


Ghost Transmissions

by Zozibo



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: (or the attractive squad in other words), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, F/F, Fluff, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, and a whole lot of people who need to sort out their priorities, lots of zombies, platonic Aomine/Momoi, platonic Momoi/Kise/Himuro, side Momoi/Riko, some broken walkie talkies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2018-09-03 07:51:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8703838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zozibo/pseuds/Zozibo
Summary: When Kise over hears a loose transmission from a broken walkie talkie, he is determined to find out who is at the other end. Unfortunately for him, there are bigger things he should probably be worrying about. Like the lack of food and medicine. Or maybe the constant threat of zombies.Essentially an Aokise zombie apocalypse au where Kise is a preoccupied scavenger and Aomine is a military asshole.





	1. Prologue

The thin piece of metal scraped against the draw lock, probing the inner mechanisms. Kise twisted the metal further inside before it gave a satisfactory click and the draw slid open. The contents rattled around, some smaller objects clinking as they bounced off each other. They were mainly small trinkets the previous user had stashed away, useless keys and broken bulbs. Three cylinders rolled to the edge, giving off a loud twang in the darkness as they collided. Kise smiled, it looked like his trip was going to be a short one after all.

All the other surrounding areas had been picked clean of food and other marginally important objects. The foraging missions were taking longer and longer. Lucky for him, Kise was only really looking for one thing.

He quickly surveyed the rest of the room. The abandoned office room was one of the few rooms that hadn’t been messed around with by previous survivors or zombies. In the quiet, the room almost looked like it had been suspended in time. The only difference was the thick layer of dust resting on all the surfaces.

He quickly shoved his findings into his rucksack and made his way to the door, pausing to pick something off from the main desk. The object was rectangular in shape and as Kise wiped off some of the caked dust, he felt his previously good mood plummet. It was a family photo, a small girl was being hoisted onto the shoulders of her father as what looked like the mother cradled an overweight cat to her chest. Now all of this was only a memory of what _use_ to be. There had be be thousands of photos just like this one. Sometimes it reminded Kise of his own family. But that wasn’t something that lasted long. He didn’t know the family from the picture. He didn’t even know if they could be alive. Realistically, he doubted it. Mentally shaking himself, Kise flipped the frame over and popped open the back. Maybe he could add it to the shrine they had made back at base. Maybe a passing survivor might recognise it. It was a nice thought, but it was more Momoi’s philosophy and the absence of passing survivors made shrine start to lack meaning. Kise thought it was more of a coping strategy, regardless of what Momoi argued.

Sliding through the door, Kise studied the small, rather crude map (if he could even call it that) of the surrounding area. It should be easy to get back to base. If he did it quick enough, Momoi wouldn’t have to hide her disappointment over his find. He might even win that stupid bet Himuro had made. Sofa for a week would definitely be something Kise would rub in the soon-to-be-loser's face.

Lost in the thought of certain victory, Kise yanked the plank that had been holding the door open out too quickly. The door swung shut with surprising force, causing a small bang to be echoed off the degrading walls. “ _Shit_ ,” He had promised not to be too careless on his solo outings. It wasn’t as if he was in too much danger. Momoi’s map had marked the deserted shopping area as being a marginally safe zone, minus a couple of stragglers. But Kise could take those in his sleep. Still, the group was small enough (and their navigator fierce enough) to demand certain promises be made. A daily checking of the map and ultimate caution was mandatory, even if they had made it this far.

 

* * *

 

 

“I see you’ve finally made it back? Any faster and you might have broken my _grandfather’s_ time record for scavenging,”

Kise smirked as he pulled himself up through the base’s opening hatch, pausing only to throw an abandoned shoe at his offender. Himuro’s snorted a laugh through his semi raised hands and the shoe weapon bounced sadly to the floor. Next time it would get him.

“I thought I was pretty fast,”

“Impressively fast - for a sloth maybe,” Himuro replied, sliding of the armchair he had been slumped in.

Their base (or “zombie club hideout” as Momoi once called it) was a tall, abandoned building with several large pieces of furniture, most of them mismatched but looking oddly in place in the chaos. A large table had been placed in the middle, with various maps and small broken gadgets scattering the surface. There was an offensively ugly armchair, often claimed by Himuro, was stationed near one of the large windows. Kise had tried to get rid of it more than a couple times and the arms were littered with moth-eaten holes and small burn marks (not entirely Kise’s fault). A couch was placed on the opposite side of the room, with various stolen cushions placed around to make a sleeping area, with their supplies and gear cluttering the storage that lined the walls. Lastly, a small camping stove was placed near a ladder that lead to the top level. Kise was still impressed at how Momoi had managed to haul most of the stuff onto the floor _and_ still make it look somewhat nice.

Approaching the table, Kise emptied most of his contents onto the surface and throw the empty bag over by the couch. Momoi, who had been previously crouched by some of the cupboards, joined the other two at the table, greeting Kise in her usual sing song voice.

“What did you find for us?” She asked, her long pink braid falling to the table as she leant closer to the loot.

“Oh the usual, some lighters, a box of paperclips, batteries and this,” he brushed the photo towards Momoi. Looking around at the others, she carefully held up the object as if it was an injured butterfly. Fragile yet beautiful in it’s tragedy. Kise could see Himuro shooting him questioning looks out of the corner of his eye. Nodding his head slightly in the other’s direction, he smiled at Momoi. “I thought it could go with the shrine? You know, the one with the photo’s we’ve found for passing survivors?”

Momoi smiled back and carefully slipped the photo into a shirt pocket before turning aside to wipe her eyes. While she had failed in her discreet action, the other two had learnt that there were times to comfort the girl and times to leave it be.

She turned back to observing the loot. She brushed over some smaller cylinder objects, Kise’s prize findings, before quickly picking them up and shooting a small frown at Kise.

“Kise … you know none of our working machines use these types of batteries?” Momoi’s brows were knitted together and Kise got the familiar feeling of an older sister scolding him.

“Yeah, of course I know. It’s not for those,” Momoi’s scowl deepened, looking more confused than accusative.

“They aren’t for that walkie talkie, are they?”

“Well, yes-”

Himuro banged the table. The noise wasn’t particularly loud, but it set some of the smaller objects to rolling around. Kise heard Momoi’s disappoint sign but focused on Himuro as he agitatedly push his hand through his hair. “I only try and find these when I _know_ I’m safe and we don’t have anything else important to find,”

“That’s not the point Kise,” Momoi’s sounded defeated, and Kise was aware of the dark bags under her eyes.

“Momoi did say _working machines_ ,” Himuro said, looking as disappointed as Momoi sounded.

“Himuro, for the last time, the walkie talkie _does_ work!” Kise yelled. “You’ve seen it working before.”

“You can barely call some static working, Kise,” Himuro scoffed, shrugging off the glare Kise was giving him.

“Well, it’s not my fault you never hear it properly,”

“Isn’t it a bit coincidental it only makes proper noise when we aren’t around?! Why are you so obsessed with it anyway?”

“Himuro, if there are voices on the walkie talkie, then that means that there are also people in the city!”

“So how come we’ve never seen them?”

“I don’t know,”

“Ever considered they don’t exist!”

Kise opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by Momoi waving her hands around, a panicked expression plastered to her face.

“Oh come on, Momoi. You know you think it’s a piece of crap just as much as I do,” Himuro said, looking at Momoi with an unreadable expression. Kise also looked in her direction, eyebrows raised and silently repeating the question.

The girl’s shoulders had slumped and her previously tired expression had morphed into an almost guilty one. “Kise … You have to have realised that those voices on the walkie talkie are nothing more than ghost voices?” Kise tried to say something, but Momoi quickly held her hand up and continued. “Everyone has different ways of coping with the … situation. And that’s ok! It’s just … you can’t put us in danger because of it.” Her speech was slow and the tone was gentle, as if she was carefully picking the right words so as not to  scare Kise off. It reminded him of how Momoi would speak to the injured animals they encountered before putting them out of their misery.

Momoi glanced back up at Kise, shock quickly flying over her features. Kise hadn’t realised how hurt he must have been looking. “I know you wouldn’t meaningfully put us in danger, Kise! It’s just-”

Himuro cut in, “It’s just there are no more supplies in the area. It’s been picked clean, and our supplies won’t last forever. It would be bet-”

“You aren’t suggesting we move, again?” Kise frowned. It wasn’t the first time Himuro had been eager to move locations. At first, Momoi had even been on Kise’s side for staying. But recently she had been more reluctant to agree with him. Maybe she finally completely back Himuro up? “Why would we even want to leave our base? It has been and still is one of the safest places we’ve been!”

Momoi and Himuro looked at each other again. Momoi then placed the batteries carefully onto the table before turning to Kise. “This place is safe, and if we could, I would stay here,”

“Then why not-”

“WE CAN’T!” Kise took a step back in shock. Himuro mirrored his surprise as they both stared at Momoi. She had rarely lost her temper before, maybe as a joke or in response to a tease but never seriously. And she had never been the first one to shout. She brought both her hands to her head, pressing the palms into her forehead. “I counted the supplies. We have a week of food, if that. And before you interrupt me, kise, tell me how long the last food forage took?” Her voice wavered at the edges, but held an unmistakable edge of anger and worry.

There was a pause. “Longer than an hour,” Kise said quietly.

“Even in those trips, we barely found any food. And even if there were mountains of food … we can’t live here forever. It isn’t even living, it’s just surviving … I don’t want to do that anymore …”

Kise glanced in between Momoi and Himuro. Though he hadn’t agreed, Kise could tell Himuro felt the same way. He took the smaller batteries off from the table, sliding them into a back pocket.

“I’ll take watch, so don’t you two worry about that.” Kise waited enough for Momoi to nod and Himuro to mutter a “sure” before turning up the ladder. He didn’t catch the other’s concerned eye contact or the silent agreement they made.

 

* * *

 

The lookout point was the closest to a favourite place Kise had. It was strangely calming, almost like an escape.

The evening sun filtered into room, warming his hair and lighting everything around him up into a golden glow. One entire side of the room had been destroyed, allowing the large gap to join rather neatly to the surrounding roof. Through their time at the base, they had dragged various pieces of mismatched and broken furniture up into the space to create a small area to keep look out from. There was even an old radio balanced on some bricks, though nothing seemed to come through it anymore. Everything was quiet except for the low whistle of the wind and the occasional distant groan. It was as if the world had stood still. It felt like that most days.

A small breeze rustled through some of the neglected curtains that still clung to the broken windows and over Kise’s skin. He shivered and shifted himself, gently brushing the small horizontal marks decorated the room’s walls. According to the tally, it had been 511 days since the outbreak. Or since they had found their base. It seemed like it had been much longer and Kise felt much older. Maybe the others were right? Maybe if they moved, they could find something more than just surviving.

He had been leaning back against one of the still remaining walls with his feet resting on the roof tiles, ideally fiddling with the walkie talkie. If they left, they would be leaving whoever was out there. If they _were_ out there ...

Kise shook his head. Momoi’s words had gotten to him more than he had thought.

He continued turning the small dial on the side of the walkie talkie, when a small but sudden cackle echoed off through the room. Kise froze and glanced at the radio. It was on, but there was no indication that anything was being transmitted. The crackle came again, this time continuing for a small time before abruptly stopping. Kise slowly looked at his hand. His fingers hadn’t stopped absently playing with the small dial, but as the dial turned with a click, the crackling sound returned. Kise quickly fiddled with the buttons until the crackling became a low constant  buzz. Then over the buzz came the unmistakable hum of a human voice. It was broken up, much like a scratched record, but Kise could clearly make out the drone of a sentence.

Hesitantly, Kise pressed down the small button on the top, the light switching from red to green, and spoke into the machine. The broken speech immediately stopped. Kise could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand upright. He quickly repeated the action, biting into his lip as nerves started race around his body. There was a long pause. Kise’s fingers had started tapping on the side of the gadget.The walkie talkie had transmitted back sound before, but it had only ever been snippets before with no responses. The buzzing continued without interruption. Sighing, Kise leant back and dropped the walkie talkie down next to him. Seemed like it was just a “ghost voice”.

“...so…….... Ere?” Kise abruptly sat up. He could feel adrenaline shoot up his arm as he snatched the gadget back up and pressed down the button.

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

The sound of static had grown louder, before “Ye…...ou huma….?”

Kise impatiently fiddled around, trying to find something, anything, to make it clearer. “Hey, can you hear me? Is this working?”

“-Yes! Hey, ar...ou hu..an?”

Ar-ou hu-an? Kise frowned.

“Are ….ou ...uman?”

“Yes! Yes I am.” He excitedly punched the air. It might have been a bit broken up and a bit of a weird question, but it was a reply. It was definitely a reply and that meant-

Kise paused. That meant that whoever was on the other end of the transmission was in the city. It may be a group of people, or it may be just one survivor, but for the first time in a while there was the possibility of other survivors. Kise had to tell the others. Finally they would see why it was so important for them to stay in the base.

“Yo….till there?” The crackling re-filled the room.

“Yeah. Just … wait there,” A small noise of agreement came back over the static and Kise jumped to his feet. The floorboards groaned at the sudden weights but Kise payed no attention to the protests. An overwhelming feeling of triumph filled Kise as he grabbed the walkie talkie and raced down to the others.

 

 

* * *

 

 

That feeling of triumph was short lived. The walkie talkie hung limply in Kise’s hand as he started at the scene, trying to understand.

The table was completely cleared, and looking around at the cupboards showed the same emptiness. Instead, their three bags were resting by the table, almost bursting with the amount they were filled with. Himuro and Momoi were frozen, staring back at Kise from their place over the table. Stepping close, Kise could see that the table still had one map spread across it, but a new red line had been sketched onto the surrounding areas.

“Kise … please just listen to us,” Momoi abandoned the side of the table and was making her way over to Kise.

He stepped back. His ears where pounding and his throat felt dry.

“Are you leaving-? Are you leaving me?” His voice was hoarse and hard to hear, but there was no mistaking the question.

Momoi glanced at Himuro and it was then that Kise had noticed the two were in all their gear. They were going to leave him.

“Kise … just listen,” Momoi rested her hands on his shoulders and tried to look him in the eyes. He instead stared over her head. “We were getting ready to leave, yes … but we were not leaving you. We know what it looks like, but we have all your stuff packed and ready to go … we just thought that …” She trailed off, her small fingers digging unconsciously into his shoulders.

“We thought that if we packed your stuff up, then it would easier to get you to come along,” Himuro had also left the table and moved behind Momoi.

A heavy feeling started to flood his body and Kise suddenly felt so exhausted. He stared at Momoi, then Himuro, trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

“But I’m not leaving,”

Kise felt Momoi’s fingers slide off his top, going up instead to cup her mouth. Himuro sighed slowly, and Kise felt anger start to build inside his head.

“Kise, you need to stop messing around-”

“I’m not, I’m serious! I _will_ not leave here!”

Momoi backed up, the corners of her eyes turning slightly red. Himuro took her place in front of Kise, gently clasping the front of his shirt.

“We need to-”

“No we need to stay here! The walkie talkie-” With that Himuro pushed Kise away, hands clasping his head.

“Leave the fucking walkie talkie, Kise! Is it really more important than us?” He wildly gestured in between himself and Momoi. It wasn’t true. To Kise, these two were the only important things left. But-

“No, nothing it. But-” Both turned on Kise, but before they could say anything he quickly continued. If he could quickly just show them… “I promise, just now, the walkie talkie transmitted someone speaking-”

Kise hadn’t been expecting the punch. He wasn’t prepared enough to take it and immediately fell to the ground. His ears were ringing and something hot was dripping down his face.

His nose felt numb. Kise pressed his hand over the area, trying to cool it, and stared up at Himuro. His face was dark and uncomfortably expressionless. Momoi was desperately tugging at his shirt, but he remained motionless. The hot dripping sensation had spread to Kise’s hand, and as he pulled it away, he could see the bright red smudged over his fingers.

“Stop fucking around about that broken walkie talkie.” Himuro’s voice cracked with desperation.

The anger that had been growing inside Kise’s head exploded and he throw himself at the other boy.

Through the ringing he could hear a distant screaming. The two bodies hit the table, a loud crack coming off in protest. Himuro yelled, driving his knee into Kise’s body and the other fell to the ground. Kise was momentarily phased, trying to pant in air through his coughing fit. Pulling back his fist he swung at Himuro, missing and falling into the space. But as Himuro turned to face Kise, he sung again, hitting Himuro’s left eye. The other grunted and stepped back, hand pressed against his eye. Kise righted himself on the table, pulling the walkie talkie up to place safely. But his hand came up empty. Kise quickly scanned the room before seeing the small rectangle lying by the base of the ladder. He stumbled over to it, but was thrown to the ground. Himuro landed on top of his and the two began to roll around on the floor, trying to land punches when the other was vulnerable. Kise pushed off from the ground, finally on top of Himuro but Momoi grabbed his arm. Looking up at the girl, her face was covered in tears and she was desperately trying to beg something. Kise felt his own face fall, just as Himuro punched him in the stomach. Doubling over and clutching his stomach, he fell to the floor. Kise tried to scrabble up, grabbing an abandoned shoe that had knocked against his hand.

“KISE STOP!” He looked up, immediately dropping the shoe. Himuro was standing over the table, walkie talkie lying on the surface and the baseball bat raised in his hand. Kise froze. If Himuro smashed that, they had no hope in finding the other survivors. Kise would have not just lost the walkie talkie, but also the chance to possibly see other people. Momoi’s words had definitely got to him.

Momoi ran other to help Kise up, but didn’t let go of his arm.

“Himuro… please-” Kise croaked. The blood had trailed down onto his lips and he could taste metallic.

 

Then a low buzz started to fill the room and four words crackled into life.  
“Are y… till … ther..?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this. I've been sitting on this au for a while and have a pretty clear idea of where stuff might be going. However this is is my first proper fic, so please give feedback. It would be a great help!
> 
> I'm sorry Himuro was a bit of a dick in this chapter. He was kinda desperate and it was needed but don't worry, he will redeem himself. Also another sorry that Aomine technically didn't appear in this chapter, I just needed to set stuff up but I didn't want to write too much.
> 
> Thank you thegiftofnothing and ko_komaeda for checking through my draft! You nerds were amazing.


	2. Fireworks and Escape Plans

 

“Are y…..ll ther..?”

 

The sentence couldn’t have sounded more broken, but to Kise, it was the clearest thing he had ever heard. The buzz filled the silence and the static seemed to echo off the walls.

Kise let out a shaky breath. The dial must have been nudged during the fight and the other person had probably grown tired of waiting. It had to be some kind of rare luck that had caused it to work at this moment. The ringing in his ears had faded, replaced now with a slow throbbing. Kise could feel a lightheaded dizziness settle over him and was aware of a pulsing through his arm.

“Was that the walkie talkie?” Kise glanced down at Momoi. She was still clamped to his sleeve and he could feel small shivers coming through her small fingers. Looking back up him, she repeated the question.

“Hel…! We hav….ot all….day,”

There was a clatter as the bat Himuro had been holding crashed to the floor. Looking slowly at Kise for a moment, he turned his gaze away and stepped back. Kise immediately ran to the table, snatching up the walkie talkie and starting to incessantly fiddle with the dials. The buzz started to grow louder. Kise lifted it slowly to his mouth and pushed the button down.

“Yes, we are here.”

The only sound in the room was the crackle of the static and the heavily panting from the fight. What if the person on the other side had decided it wasn’t worth it? What if they had given up? Kise could feel the panic slowly rise inside his body and start filling his limbs with cold dread. The pounding in his ears was growing louder.

“Fin..ly! Whe… re you?” the walkie crackled out.

There was a sharp intake of air. Turning, he saw Momoi hovering behind him. They made eye contact and she timidly pointed towards the small machine, “Is that the best quality you can get?”

Kise nodded.

“Can I help?”

Kise nodded again, hesitantly stepping back to allow Momoi access to the walkie talkie. Instead she turned to one of the cupboards, quickly rummaging through the drawers. She yanked on draw too hard in her desperation,  causing it’s insides to cascade out onto the floor. But she didn’t stop to pick the items up, nor did she pause to fix the drawer. Instead she turned back to the table and laid out a small silver object. Carefully picking the walkie talkie up, Momoi started to bend the object around the antenna before Kise recognised what it was. Tin foil. What tin foil could do to help the transmission, Kise had no idea. But he knew when the right time to question Momoi was, and now was not that time.

Holding the machine out, Momoi looked at Kise and signed. Obviously his look of confusion hadn’t been hidden very well.

“The tin foil can sometimes help the signal to be clearer. It always worked when I was younger,” There was a fleeting emotion that flew across Momoi’s face. In that split second she looked sad, almost nostalgic, but it quickly faded. As if to prove her point, Momoi lifted the walkie talkie to her mouth and slowly but determinedly pressed down the button.

“Who are you and what do you want?”

There was a spluttering on the other end of the radio and what sounded like distant voices. Momoi repeated the questions once more.

The walkie talkie crackled. “To save you! What else-” but whoever had been speaking had suddenly been cut off, as if they had been physically dragged away from the machine. Sounds Kise couldn't distinguish sounded through the small machine and he got the impression that someone might be yelling on the other end.

“Well at least it's cleared now…” Momoi smiled up at Kise. She looked tired and her smile seemed to be drooping at the edges.

“Thanks to you,” Something in Kise’s response had struck Momoi, her eyebrows momentarily scrunching up and her gaze flying to focus on something insignificant on the floor.

“Kise… I am sorry-” her voice quivered but she carried on. “We shouldn't have gone behind your back. I should-”

Kise held his hands up, prepared to say something, but was cut off by a loud burst of static and distinctly different voice that came through the walkie talkie.

“Hello, sorry about that. My … friend … isn’t the best at talking to strangers,” there was some loud spluttering again, this time in the background. It sounded as if someone was yelling, but the new person ignored it and continued. “To put it simply, we are here to help.”

Himuro gestured urgently, mouthing something at Momoi. She nodded and returned back to the walkie talkie. “We would love your help, but what if this is just a trap to rob us?”

“Oh good point. I can promise you we are not here to do that. We've been sent out to search for survivors and offer a better way of … well … life.”

“Sounds like something a raider would say,” Himuro muttered as he moved up next to Kise. “How do we  know we can trust them?”

Momoi glanced in between the two guys. She seemed to be deliberating something, gently tapping on the wooden surface of the table.

“Kise, you’ve been getting these signals for a while, yes?” she paused while Kise nodded. “I don’t think a raider would have been so patient …” Momoi trailed off but it was enough for the other two to understand what she was really trying to say. This promise seemed too good to be true, but they were desperate. The fight between Himuro and Kise hadn’t been the first time tensions had been high in the group. At this point, Kise felt as if he were a starving child who had just been lead to a table covered in food.

“Ok then,” Himuro leant forward, taking the walkie talkie from Momoi’s hands and pressing the button down. Kise could see panic flash onto Momoi’s face. Himuro must have seen this as well because he gave a small smile before turning and talking into the walkie talkie.

“What do we need to do?”

 

* * *

 

 

Kise checked the laces of his boots before standing up and swinging a large bag onto his back. His fingers moved up to close the chest strap before he faltered. Chest straps were not a good look. The world might have gone to hell, but Kise was determined to still keep up some fashion (after all his previous part time job had had it ingrained into him).

 

_“You guys are going to have to be cautious. You may be use to the area, but we may have stirred up more zombies and they seem to be rather uneasy. We have two cars near the bottom of the motorway off from a town hall , but we’re going to need you to come the rest of the way. The place you described doesn’t look too far off, but be prepared to run. We’re not sure we could stay in this position for too long”_

 

The instructions flashed through Kise’s mind. He slide the strap shut and fastened it against his chest. He would much rather survive looking like a nerd, and it wasn’t like anyone would comment on it.

He felt a hand graze his arm as Momoi walked past him. Her long hair had been tied back into a bun for efficiency and she had stuffed a small knife into a makeshift belt on her leg. “Just incase,” she had said, and Kise was starting to hope the opportunity didn’t come up. They had faced zombies previously, fought off hordes before they even knew how to survive or what the best techniques were, but Kise still felt a sickening pull on his stomach.

“We ready to go?” Himuro asked. The other two nodded and Himuro dropped through the floor hatch. Momoi followed him soon after and then it was Kise’s turn. He glanced one last time around the old room. All the furniture was still in their old places, but any small, useful objects had been packed up. The atmosphere was now cold, with all previous charm having drained out. It had quickly turned dark outside and the moonlight was cascading through the window, casting eerie shadows throughout the space. This place had been a home to the three of them for what seemed like a lifetime. It had been where they had celebrated birthdays (even when it was hard to remember how many days had past) and laughed together over silly things. It had been somewhere that, despite the crazy world they lived, could seem normal and safe.

 

Kise felt a tug on the bottom of his trousers and looked down to see Momoi. Her eyes looked sad (she probably felt the same way about the room) and as she beckoned him down she gave a weak, almost apologetic smile.

Kise jumped down and carefully checked he had everything. The walkie talkie bounced against his chest and Kise made sure to tuck it away under his jacket, before climbing through a large hole in the wall and onto an adjacent roof. Even though it had served it’s purpose, Kise just couldn’t leave it. It must be a sentimental attachment or something.

Himuro glanced round to check everyone one last time before crouching down by a small cardboard box.

 

_“I hope you have a plan for getting here. There are a lot of zombies clogging up the streets and that might cause an issue for you … My friend suggests you guys make a distraction of some sort. You know … the type to clear some space for escape. Just don’t make it too … life threatening.”_

 

Kise nudged Himuro gently with his foot, not enough to knock him over but just enough to cause him to wobble slightly, then beamed when the other flashed an annoyed but amused smile. 

“Clever idea,” Kise nodded his head at the box as Himuro started emptying the contents.

“Thanks. I had a feeling they would be useful,” Himuro laughed.

Momoi shuffled in between the two and pulled a lighter from one of her pockets.

“You can’t light fireworks without a fire!” she said carefully handing the lighter to Himuro. “Be careful though. We want it exploding _away_ from our direction so it can draw them that way,”

Himuro nodded. Kise and Momoi watched in anticipation as he lit the flame and held it close to the bundle of rope connecting the explosives. The unmistakable sizzle of burning rope could be heard. At the sound, the three immediately raced off, their footprints echoing quietly along the rooftops.

 

Momoi had planned the best path before they had left and they had all memorised her make-shift map. While most of it was on the roofs, an area with less chances of a run in occurring, their group would eventually have to drop down to street level. They were cutting through a rather large building, but Kise couldn’t quite shake the feeling of dread that was sitting heavily in his stomach. Hopefully the loud fireworks would have drawn out most of the zombies.

A sudden whistle sounded behind them, followed by an ear piercing bang. Kise whipped his head round just in time for another whistle as a column of light shot into the air and exploding into various colours. It was bright against the dark sky and every bang illuminated the surrounding roofs. The display almost reminded Kise of the festivals he use to visit. But those were thoughts for another time. He shook his head. Even though there wasn’t any immediate danger in front of him, one slip could cause fatal for not just Kise, but the rest of his group.

Momoi ran over a plank of wood they had secured between two buildings. Himuro followed over only to stop on the other side and give out a low whistle. As Kise past over, he saw the cause of interest. The street below looked alive. It was writhing as if it were a large snake, coils slowly but menacingly sliding over each other. Another bang sounded in the distance, briefly lighting up the street below and a small gasp escaped Momoi. The street below _was_ alive. Or technically speaking, undead. The raspy groans reach the group as they saw large groups of zombies moving around the streets. All were being drawn to the fireworks in the distance, and some were even slowly climbing over each other in their desperateness.

“Good to see that worked,” Himuro smiled at them, but noticed Momoi’s look of concern. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “It did a good job in clearing the way; I’m just worried that it might have aroused more than we anticipated. We should probably get going.”

 

* * *

 

There was a creak as Kise landed on the floor boards, causing a cloud of dust to rise into the air. The noise was quiet, but it stood out in the silence, the only other sound being light panting from the group and the distant fireworks. Kise barely had time to right himself before Momoi leaped down. The floorboards gave another protesting groan, but they had already left.

 

The hall they were running down was old and dilapidated, with various pieces of furniture deserted and left as obstacles. Reaching the end of the hall, Himuro ducked through what use to be a hallway then gestured back at the others. The now rotting door had semi-collapsed, leaving little room to squeeze by. As Kise shimmied his way through, he heard a small click as if something had been caught. Ignoring the noise and continuing out, he turned to Momoi who pointed down through the next room.

It was large in scale, with a high decorate ceiling. It reminded Kise of what a bank or town hall might have looked like, with the once-great marble now scuffed into dullness. The balcony they were standing on looked down on the circular floor below. On the other side of the room, the balcony had collapsed and created an unsteady and uneven slope to the floor. Even though it looked unsafe, Kise could already tell it was a better option than the massive staircase that had an equally massive hole in the centre. Himuro started forward but was grabbed back by Momoi. She desperately flapped her hand in the direction of the stairs and after squinting, Kise could make out the shape of slumped bodies. This would be the first proper obstacle of the night.

“I thought they were all gone!” Himuro whispered at Momoi.

The girl held a hand to her forehead, accidentally pushing up her pink bangs. Her eyes had unfocused and Kise could tell she was biting into her lip. He could almost see the thousands of neurons firing around her brain, testing out different plans and strategies. After a short second, she looked at the others with a decisive huff. “It should be ok. We just continue as we planned, but move slowly when we are down there,”

“And if they’re fast?” Her eyebrows knitted together at Kise’s question, but she shook her head.

“We’ve dealt with worse _in_ worse situations. We’ll just be wary,” Momoi answered, the discoloured carpet muffling her footprints as she made her way across the balcony with the others behind her.

 

* * *

 

 

The climb down the collapsed balcony was easy for the first part. The concrete had eroded away in some places, giving the perfect foot holes and it was littered with rogue pieces of steel that could be used as grip. Once down safely down, Himuro beckoned at Kise as Momoi fixed the position of her bag. Kise was starting to dislike his decision of volunteering to go last. Kise knelt by the ledge, positioning himself before sliding partially down the slope. He could feel gravity tugging him down eagerly and grabbed onto a sticking out steel rod before he could fall off the abrupt drop in the slope. Finding a steady hole to slot his foot into, Kise started to scale down the concrete.

 

The blood was drumming loudly in Kise’s ears and he felt his throat close at every misplaced foot or accidently kicked pieces of rubble that cascaded down the slope. He could feel his hands become slippery with sweat and the bag on his back seemed to be pulling him down.

There was a muffled talking behind him. It sounded urgent but Kise couldn’t focus on it enough to make out any words. He just had to get down without making too much noise and then they would be fine. As fine as they could _be_ in a zombie apocalypse.

 

In retrospect, Kise should have tried harder to listen to the talking. He realised now it must have been closer to a shouting whisper. Kise had placed his foot on what he thought was a secure piece of steel wire that was sticking out of the concrete. However it was only when he shifted his weight onto the foot that the steel bent and collapsed under him. Desperately flailing around, Kise tried to grab onto something. He caught onto a previous foothold but his fingers, now slick with sweat, slide off immediately. Kise could feel himself starting to fall, the weight of his bag pulling him backwards. Out of the corner of his eye, Kise saw the walkie talkie lifting slightly away from his neck. The necktie must have broken when he squeezed through the doorway and in this moment the jacket wasn’t enough to keep it secured.

 Kise didn’t have much time to think before the floor rushed up to meet him. His fall was muffled, but he now felt a pounding in his skull and his hands felt hot and wet. Kise was vaguely aware of Momoi and Himuro rushing towards him. They must have been trying to warn him before. He struggled to his feet, a sharp pain shooting through his leg.

 Then there was a loud clatter. The circular room seemed to amplify the sound and Kise immediately felt his heart start to race. As he looked into the darkness underneath the stairs, Kise could see limp bodies starting to rise and an unmistakable groan fill the space.

 “Kise!” Himuro’s shout behind him echoed off the walls, all attempt at silence abandoned.

 He turned, starting to follow the other two. They were standing by a small exit door on the opposite side of the room from where Kise stood. But something felt wrong

 

His hand flew to his chest. Nothing. All thoughts of the walkie talkie filled his mind and Kise began to desperately look around for the device. It had to be somewhere near where he had fallen.

 “We need to go, Kise!” he could hear Momoi’s voice starting to rise with her increasing panic.

 

A grotesque head had started to emerge from out of the darkness. The skin had lost all colour and was only hanging onto the face by a couple of straining strands. It reminded Kise of a wax statue that had been halt melted. As he looked away, he spotted a small rectangular object lying barely a meter from the slope.

 

 “Kise-”

 

 “Go ahead. I can catch up,” Kise was glad he was turned so he couldn’t see their expressions. He didn’t imagine they would have been _that_ happy over his response. “Just trust me,”

He heard angry protests and turned to face the two. He locked eyes with Himuro and saw the other nod in reply.

“If you’re not there in 5 minutes, we’re are coming back. I don’t care what you say,” Himuro shouted, ignoring the terrifying scowl Momoi turned on him.

Kise flashed a smile at Himuro before racing forward.

 

Every step forwards drove new bolts of pain up his leg. Luckily enough, the walkie talkie was close. He grabbed the object and turned. But his legs were still weak from his fall and the feet slid out from under him. He quickly dragged himself up and kicked off from the ground just as a zombie had reached out to grab him. It missed him by millimeters and he swore he could hear the disturbed air whistling next to his ear. Kise swore and kicked the zombie away, causing it to stumble backwards before lurching forwards again. It had moved with surprising speed and was already trying to close the gap in between them.

Kise vaulted over an old desk, some rogue splinters digging into his palm. He hissed in pain before turning and  pushing the desk back. There was a chorus of groans as several zombies were caught by the desk and toppled over. But they quickly became replaced by others, bits of saliva flying from rotting mouths. It seemed like the hole had been a nest of some sorts, with what had appear as 5 zombies were spawning and growing until Kise could see about 30. Some were even trampling over each other in their urgency to reach a new victim.

 

He angled towards the small door the others had disappeared through. He remembered Momoi saying that it lead to an alleyway. After that it went straight to the start of the motorway. Easy.

 He hurled through the doorway and slamming the door shut. It looked frail, something the zombies could batter down in their sleep (not that Kise remembered the last time he saw a zombie sleep). He desperately looked around, before settling on a large box and pushing it in front of the door.

 Something lashed out of the darkness and grabbed his foot. Swearing, he recoiled and tore his foot out of the vice like grasp. He didn’t even stop to look down but ran down the alleyway. Behind him, he could hear the moans getting louder, accompanied with several loud crashes.

 Kise briefly glanced up ahead and what he saw almost made him falter. Where the exit of the alleyway _should_ have been was now a huge pile of scrapped furniture and rubble that made a barrier. Usually, Kise would have been able to climb these things no problem, but this situation was slightly different. He already knew his pace had slowed considerably, and he wasn’t too sure how well his leg would hold up.

 

He was barely halfway down the alley when he heard a screech behind him that made his blood freeze and his heart stop. The other zombies could be considered child’s play when compared to this monster that the noise belonged to. Kise didn’t even remember any of them being in this area, but now was not the time to debate that.

 Kise tried to put on a burst of speed, but the pain in his leg was causing him to trip slightly. He would hear the crashing behind him as the new zombie bounced off the walls in it’s craze. The sounds were getting increasingly quicker and Kise could already tell that trying to out run this creature would not work. He ducked down, pulling a small knife from his boot just as something crashed into his back.

 

For the second time, Kise hit the ground hard and skidded along the surface. It seemed today wasn’t his lucky day. He could feel the air being brutally knocked out of his lungs as a heavy body landed on top of his chest. The walkie talkie flew out of one hand, bouncing against the wall, as the other hand gripped tightly onto the knife. Kise brought his arms up over his head just as a mouth came snapping down. It was so close Kise could feel the force of the bite. Straining, he tried to push the body off him, but the zombie was raining down a storm of continuous attacks. His arms were beginning to ache, and kise could feel all of the strength slowly start to drain out. His knife had been knocked out of his hand. Kise yelled and with a sudden urge of strength, pushed at the zombie. It wasn’t enough, but it managed to push it off. Kicking out, Kise turned and tried to push himself towards where his knife had fallen. It was just out of reach, but if he stretch out far enough …

 

The creature screamed again behind him and Kise could feel claw like hands grab at his back. With one last spurt of energy, he grabbed onto the knife. If he was going down, then he sure as hell was planning on taking that thing with him.

As he turned over his shoulder, everything seemed to slow. He saw a jaw wide open, jagged teeth almost shining in the moonlight. It was preparing to bite down into flesh and clothes, and it was the type of bite Kise would not survive from from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I am so sorry this is so late. I was kinda drowning in school and project work, so I couldn't work on it as much as I would have liked to.
> 
> All the feedback was so nice! Again, if there is any feedback or constructive criticisms then go for it ^^
> 
> Also I am so sorry Aomine wasn't in it - yet! He was originally, but the chapter was getting so long I had to cut it down. But don't worry, the next chapter should come pretty soon.
> 
> Thank you thegiftofnothing and ko_komaeda for reading it again!!


	3. Assholes and car journeys

Then two things happened at once. The creature stopped. All haste in it’s body vanished and it’s mouth lolled open. It came crashing down onto Kise. At the same time, a deafening bang had exploded above Kise’s head. It echoed throughout the alley and Kise was aware of a high pitched ringing in his left ear. He immediately looked around for the source of the commotion, gripping his knife tightly in case whoever had saved him wasn’t so friendly.

The figure was towering over Kise. He held a large gun in one hand and was covered from head to toe in black. The face was hidden by a large mask that covered the entire of the figures face, except for some dark blue hair that stuck out over the top of the mask.

Kise’s first thought was raider; someone he definitely did not need to run into. They would take all his stuff leaving him to the zombies. But on closer inspection, the person’s clothes looked too … organised. While it had a rough presentation, the clothing looked as if it were designed to keep one safe rather than looking cool. Dark trousers and boats successfully covered the whole of the bottom half, with a matching black t shirt. The chest was covered in a large kevlar vest that looked like it had seen better days, and the stranger had similar looking arm guards

 

Scrambling up, Kise held the knife half way in front of him. It wouldn’t do any serious damage to someone dressed like that, but he hoped it would at least intimidate.

It had the opposite effect. The stranger’s shoulders started to shake and Kise had the sense that they found the small threat amusing. Kise frowned and inched forward before stopping at a sudden deep voice.

“Hey calm down, will you? If I were here to kill you, I wouldn’t have stopped that thing,” the stranger nodded over at the slumped zombie on the floor. Movement further down the alleyway must have caught their attention as the stranger gave a low whistle and started to scale the barricade. They paused and beckoned to Kise. “Don’t make me regret wasting bullets on you.”

Kise scowled in the other’s direction but they had already started climbing again. He quickly scooped up the walkie talkie (again), slipping it into his pocket before securing his bag and climbing up after the stranger.

 

As he landed on the other side, Kise hissed with the pain as his foot collided harshly with the ground. There was a brief moment of panic as his leg gave way slightly and Kise lurched forward, grabbing onto the nearest thing for support.

That “thing” happened to be the stranger.

“Have a nice trip?” they asked, amused.

Kise immediately pushed himself away, instead gripping onto the wall. He decided then and there that whoever this guy was, regardless of whether he had just saved Kise’s life, he was an asshole.

 

The stranger’s hand came up and Kise grip re-tightened on the knife as he held it again in front of him. The other made an irritated sound and gestured to the mask.

“I’m taking this off. It won’t kill you.”

Kise lowered the knife, still keeping it tight in his hand, and watched as the stranger unfastened the straps of their mask and pull it slowly off their face.

Kise’s scowl loosened. The revealed face was by every means attractive. The stranger was a man, about Kise’s age. He had strikingly sharp features, with the slight frown emphasising his straight nose. Intense blue eyes stared straight into Kise’s; they looked almost dangerous, reminding Kise of a panther . They were so captivating, he started to not want to look away. Then the face morphed into a smirk and Kise fell back into reality. He maybe be attractive, but he was an attractive jerk.

Kise bent to put his knife away in his boot before quickly straightening. He was becoming increasingly aware of the stranger’s height and tried to stand at his own full height. Kise was not willing to let the stranger hold anything over his head (metaphorically speaking).

 

“Well …?” the stranger’s low voice broke through the silence.

Kise blinked. Well what? Did he want something from Kise? Did he expect something? Kise could feel his eyebrows pull into a frown, feeling more confused then irritated.

The stranger had raised an eyebrow and gave Kise an expecting look. Whatever it was he wanted, Kise didn’t feel like giving it.

After a moment of silence, the stranger pulled back and smiled at Kise. No, not smiled, smirked. “You’re welcome.”

“For what?” Kise retorted but the other’s smirk only widened.

“For coming to your rescue. For saving your life,” the stranger’s voice sounded almost bored. “You owe me a thank you,”

Kise tried to object, but his words muddled and all that came out were angry noises. He could feel his face start to heat up, but kept the eye contact. He didn’t remember being this bad at talking to people. It must just be the stranger. Facing zombies would probably be less infuriating than talking to this guy. He would not give him the satisfaction of thanking him.

Kise angrily pushed his bangs off his forehead and steadied his. “I was handling it, there was no need for your help.”

“Well I hate to break it to you, but it didn’t look like you were handling it,” the stranger slide his mask onto his belt and turned back to Kise, giving him a look that was somehow even more smug than before.

“Who are you anyway?” Kise was angry, but he might as well try and find out something about this guy.

He regretted asking.

The stranger held his arms out, bending into a mock bow. “I am the knight in shining armour, to your damsel in distress.”

Face burning, Kise took a step up to the stranger. He hadn’t felt that angry in a long time (though he tried to forget about the last time it had happened). Not even with the recent fight with Himuro. The distance between their faces had closed drastically and Kise hated how he had to look up slightly. He opened his mouth to speak, retort in some way, but before he could even start the stranger waved a hand, immediately cutting the other off.

“Look, I’m enjoying this little chat as much as you are. And you are welcome! But this is a waste of time,” the stranger pointed behind Kise. As he turned, Kise started to hear the low groans. A new bunch of zombies had stumbled out of a door, and in spotting the two, were slowly moving towards them.

 

“Go,” the stranger held up his gun again, quickly aiming and taking out the closest zombie (which wasn’t really close at all). Noticing Kise’s hesitance, the stranger gestured to the alley’s end with his head, still staying focused on the approaching horde. “Your friends told me you might need help.”

Momoi and Himuro. They must have found the group of rescuers. That meant they must be safe. But that also meant …

“Are you part of the rescue team?” Kise asked, but the stranger seemed to have blocked him out in favour of concentrating on the zombies.

It seemed like Kise’s best option was to follow what the other had said. He quickly checked his gear was all secure, before turning and sprinting down the alleyway.

He quickly reached the end, stumbling into the large square. There was a loud honk and Kise had to jump backwards as a car skidded in front of him. Someone with a mess of red hair leaned out of the front window and yelled something. Behind him, Kise could hear the moans getting louder along with the pounding of feet.Having not much to lose, Kise wrenched open the car door and clambered quickly inside.

A sudden weight collided with the car, causing it to rock. Kise was thrown into the opposite door and turned to see the stranger now half in the car, aggressively trying to kick a zombie away from his foot. The car started forward, pulling the zombie off it’s feet and giving the stranger enough time to kick it backwards onto the pavement.

“Shut the door!” the driver yelled. The stranger swore back and pulled the door shut just in time for another zombie to hurl itself against the side of the car.

The car shot forwards onto the motorway, the tires screeching at the sudden burst of speed. Kise was thrown again against the seat of the car desperately looking around for something to grab onto and right himself. Once steady, he glanced back through the window, at the horde that was being quickly being left behind.

 

* * *

 

 

The car had began to pick up a steady speed down the motorway. There wasn't any light, all the lamppost having been broken, causing the outside to be pitch black. Kise slid his hand into the pocket where the walkie talkie was, gently running his fingers along the small buttons and knobs. The small machine had caused so much chaos in the last 24 hours, and yet Kise wouldn’t even consider leaving it. While it had also saved them (probably, Kise didn’t want to think he had just blindly trusted a random guy and got into his car), he felt more sentimental over the walkie talkie. Maybe it was all the time he had put into fixing it and getting it to almost work. Maybe it was because it showed their group weren’t alone in the world after all.

There was a break in the high buildings and Kise could see the tower, their old base, before it promptly vanished behind more buildings. Sighing, lifting a finger to momentarily trace the glass where it had just been.

 

“Will you miss it?”

Kise looked around for where the monotone voice had come from. He was pretty sure it wasn’t deep enough to come from the stranger, who was now slumped in the opposite seat, his mask pulled over his face. It didn’t look like the driver had said anything either. He heard someone clear their throat before jumping in his seat.

A young man was staring intently at him from the front seat and Kise was pretty sure he hadn’t been there before. Looking around the car, confused, Kise looked back at the young man. He had a bright shock of light blue hair, and haunting eyes that matched. His gaze hadn’t wavered from Kise, and Kise was starting to feel more uneasy than confused.

“Was that you?” Kise asked. The other nodded and continued to stare at Kise, as if he was still expecting an answer.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t notice you were there,” Kise smiled slightly, bringing up a hand to fiddle with some strands of hair. He didn’t want to appear too startled or unfriendly to this new person (unlike others in the car, he hadn’t done anything jerkish).

“Most people don’t,” the young man said before disappearing briefly. Kise blinked. He wasn’t sure if the other had made a joke or not, his face had stayed expressionless. The face appeared again, but this time he pushed a small box through the gap in between the seat and headrest. After some hesitation, Kise reached up and took the box. The packaging was worn away, but Kise could make out the old packaging.

He felt a warmth spread through his body. Looking back at the other, Kise’s mouth curved into a smile. It felt silly, but genuine. “Thanks,” he said, brushing his thumb over the battered packaging. The other nodded, then continued to stare at Kise.

“He doesn’t give that to just anyone.”

Kise looked up as the driver spoke. He was focused on the road, but would turn back every now and again. He noticed Kise looking in his direction and nodded at the box.

“The Pocky. Someone back at base has a whole bunch of sweets and Kuroko managed to steal some,” the driver continued. The young man, Kuroko (Kise assumed), gave a small smile. “Yeah, well now Murasakibara is mad at me because I helped you,” The driver shook his head and muttered, quickly taking his hand off the wheel to poke Kuroko. He squirmed and swatted the hand away, this time turning fully in his seat to face Kise.

 

“I’m Kuroko. And this is Kagami,” the driver waved, but stayed turned towards the road as Kuroko continued. “The others had to leave before us, but we’re taking you back to the base now.”

The driver, Kagami, cut in. “You know I’m impressed. I didn’t think that little radio worked at all! Lucky for you, we have some stubborn bastards on our team.”

Kise pulled out a piece of Pocky, the three remaining pieces left to rattle against each other, and pushed the box back into the front seat. “So you’ve had the walkie talkie for a while then?” he asked, trying his best not to spill crumbs everywhere.

“Yeah,” Kagami nodded. “Though we all wanted to desert this place. If it wasn’t for the idiot, we would have packed up and left by now.” He paused for a moment, before turning and beaming at Kise. “I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t leave then!”

“Kagami, we haven’t introduced Aomine yet,” Kuroko nudged Kagami’s arm and the driver made a small “oh”, muttering something under his breath (though to Kise it sounded like “it’s probably for the best”). Kuroko ignored what was said and pointed towards the stranger, still sleeping.

“The person sleeping over there is-”

 

“I’ve told him already, I’m his knight in shining armour,”

Kise looked over at the stranger. Seemed he wasn’t asleep after all. He was still slumped in the car seat, but he’d pushed up the mask to smirk at Kise. God he was really starting to hate that expression.

“Well rise and shine, sleeping beauty,” Kagami’s tone was playful. He snorted as the stranger swore and kicked the back of his seat in protest.

“Not really a beauty,” Kuroko muttered, face expressionless save for a slight upturn of the mouth, and Kagami yelled with laughter.

“Hey, Kuroko I heard that!” The stranger grabbed the seat in front of his and pulled himself forward to ruffle the mop of bright blue hair. Kuroko had raised his hands to try and protect his hair. The chaos had disturbed something in the back seat and Kise heard a loud bark behind him. Turning around, he felt a wet nose press itself into the crook of his neck and made eye contact with a pair of bright blue eyes (they almost looked familiar). Kise felt a squeal escape his lips as a rather large dog decided now was the best time to jump over into the back, and onto Kise’s lap.

“Hey- hey!” Kagami yelled over the barking, trying to drag Aomine (the stranger) off Kuroko while keeping one hand firmly on the steering wheel. He succeeded in pulling him back slightly, leaving Aomine to slump back into his seat. Kise felt a satisfied smile spread over his features as the dog’s wagging tail began to repeatedly hit Aomine’s face, causing him to batter the tail away in annoyance.

“Kuroko, what is he doing here!” It sounded more like an accusation than a question and Kise could see the red-head flinched whenever the dog stuck his head through the front.

The smaller man pouted slightly, holding a hand out to calm the over excited dog. “#2 would have been lonely,”

“Plus he’s probably more helpful than you are on missions,” Aomine chimed in with a smirk, “I didn’t know you were still afraid of him.”

“I’m not afraid of him! He doesn’t like me and the feeling’s mutual-” Kagami broke off to eye the dog who was now gently sniffing Kuroko’s hair (while painfully perched on Kise’s leg). “And he’s not that small anymore, he’s too much trouble,”

Kise heard a small gasp from Kuroko and saw his place hands over the dog’s ears. Kagami threw up a hand in annoyance, “The dog doesn’t understand!”

“Still causes less trouble than you.” Aomine chuckled. He was still smirking from behind the driver’s seat, but it looked slightly more evil.

“Oh yeah! Like you can really say that after a bunch of zombies chased you back to the car,” Kagami retorted.

“Hey, that was princess’s fault, not mine,” Aomine waved the insult away, but before Kise could retort over his new nickname, the other lent forward in his chair. “But you do have your uses,” and with that small remark, Aomine shoved his fingers through the gap between the headrest and onto Kagami’s neck. The redhead swore and the car jolted violently forward as he straightened up. There was a small yelp as the dog fell completely into the front and Kise felt his seat belt strain.

“FUCK! Aomine, what the fuck!” Kagami tried to pull his neck away from the other’s fingers, but they were firmly buried in his jacket’s collar. “You’re fingers are cold as fuck. Get them off, I’m trying to drive!”

Aomine continued to snicker as the car continued to swerve forwards with ever flail from its driver.

 

“Aomine, Kagami stop being childish,” The two straightened with the harsh words and Kuroko gently helped the dog into the back seats. “It is not sensible to do this while you are driving, it could be very dangerous. We’re going to be late and Riko will worry about us.”

Aomine slowly retracted his hands, choosing instead to stretch out across the back seats (much to Kise’s displeasure). The car slide back into it’s steady pace and Kise could hear Kagami muttering something about Aomine being a jerk. Good thing he wasn’t the only one who thought that.

 

“Kuroko,” Kise hesitantly tapped Kuroko’s shoulder and two bright blue eyes turned to him. “You did … um …” Kise suddenly felt a bit nervous. The chaotic scene had been rough, but there didn’t seem to be any ill will between any of the members there. It had made him think of Momoi and Himuro and a cold, almost lonely feeling had started to fill his body. The eyes were still staring at him, with a silent intensity that seemed somewhat gentle. Kise cleared his throat. “You did get my friends right?”

Kuroko took a moment to answer and for a second Kise worried that he have just followed a raider after all. But his worries were quickly quenched when Kuroko nodded before slowly answering.

“We were with another car. They said that you were behind them, but they were worried something might have happened to you. Riko thought it would be better for them to go back to the base and we wait here for you. One of them looked like they had an injury …” Kise felt his throat close and the panic start to raise again, this time for different reasons.

Kuroko must have noticed his face pale as he nodded, still keeping eye contact. “No, it wasn’t a bite. It might just have gotten infected …” Kuroko then hesitated a bit, looking away at Kise and instead at the dog, who was now sleeping draped over Kise’s lap and Aomine’s stretched out legs. “You like them a lot, don’t you?”

Kise was a bit thrown off by the question, but nodded. “They … they’re like a family.” It had sounded cheesy, but Kuroko didn’t seem like the type of person to tease Kise about it.

Instead Kuroko nodded again before asking another question, “Will you miss it?”

Kise remembers Kuroko asking the question before. He must have just got distracted then.

“I suppose-” The dog snuffled in it’s sleep and Kise found himself idly playing with the fur. It was surprisingly soft, but Kise’s fingers would sometimes gloss over matted pieces of fur or scars. “It was more about the people there than the place, though Momoi did her best to make it look nice.” He could remember one time for Momoi’s birthday, he and Himuro had found an old lamp that changed colour in one of the mall’s shops. They had searched for ages to find the right batteries and in the end it had just blown up the moment they gave it to her. That didn't matter though. It had made Momoi laugh, and in the end, that was more valuable than some fancy lamp.

Aomine’s loud snoring was starting to fill the car. That didn’t take long, Kise thought to himself, shifting around in his seat to find a comfortable position without waking the sleeping dog.

“You might want to get some sleep now,” Kagami briefly looked back at Kuroko, then back to the road. “Seems like you’ve had a long day, but you’re going to have to go through some tests when we’re back, so you won’t be able to rest right away.”

Kise nodded. He could feel the exhaustion dragging himself down, and his leg had started to ache again. The snoring and snuffles from the dog had melted into an almost rhythmic drone. Kise drifted off to sleep, hand gently holding the walkie talkie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thank you for all reading, and all the comments are so great! And I finally managed to get Aomine in (it took long enough). Thank you to everyone who stuck around for him, I hope its worth it.
> 
> Also, if you notice any funky spelling it is probably down to me using British spelling, so I hope that doesn't throw anyone off.
> 
> A great big thank you to thegiftofnothing and ko_komaeda for reading over it!!


	4. New Settings and Sleeping Patterns

A cold settled over Kise’s body, as he started to slowly drift awake. The first thing he was aware of was an uncomfortable knot in his shoulder. Shivering slightly, Kise unconsciously moved closer to a large but warm shape beneath him. He was gradually becoming more aware of his surroundings, the various sounds of things stirring around him slowly coming into focus. There seemed to be movement and talking but he made no attempt to open his eyes and further find out.

A small object gently touched his face, only pressing harder when Kise didn't respond. He carelessly brushed it away, but when it didn't stop his eyes reluctantly opened. 

A blurry, bright blue shape was hovering above him and as everything started to come into focus, Kise recognised the face. Kuroko was leaning over him from the front seat. Once acknowledging he was awake, the he retracted his finger (the source of annoyance) and instead moved his attention to whatever was beside Kise. As Kise looked down, he noticed the dog had joined him in lying along the back seats. It had pressed itself into his side, probably in an attempt to not fall off of the small space.

“You move a lot in your sleep, kept on walking no.2 up. It doesn’t take much to wake him,” Kuroko muttered, scratching the dog behind its ears. It snuffled in response and turned to lick Kuroko’s hand.

 

The car suddenly rocked as Kagami clambered into the front seat and stuck his head round into the back. Upon seeing Kise, the other snorted before gesturing at him, “looks like you had a good sleep!”

“Cars are a lot less comfortable than I remember,” Kise replied, the edges of his voice hoarse from sleep. If he was being honest, there wasn't a lot that he remembered about cars anymore. 

“Well, at least he's a deep sleeper,” Kagami smiled at Kise; it looked more amused than friendly, as if Kagami knew something he didn’t. Kise frowned in response and tried to wipe the excess sleep from his eyes. It was funny, he thought Kuroko had said it didn't take much to wake the dog. Maybe Kagami wasn’t referring to no.2.

Something moved beneath him. As Kise leant up on his elbow, he noticed a long shape stretched across the space where he was just sleeping. Something  _ uncannily _ similar to a leg. Looking up, he saw the rest of the body (a small part of him relieved it wasn’t  _ just _ a leg). The familiar mask was resting gently on the chest - rising and falling in time with the breathing. The head was resting against the car window, causing the dark blue hair to be pushed up against the glass. Kise grimaced and immediately pushed himself away from the leg, to the further amusement of Kagami. 

“Shame I don’t have a phone anymore. That would have been a great picture!” Kagami sniggered. Kise could feel his ears start to burn. No.2 had become excited and wriggling around on the seat, trying his best to move around and lick Kise’s face. He probably should move before Aomine woke up and started to join in the teasing.

“Kagami, stop being so rude,” Kuroko muttered and was quickly followed by a yelp from Kagami.

“Oi! No need to pinch me,” Kagami frowned, rubbing the attacked skin on his arm. Turning he nodded at Kise, “Anyway, it's a good time to wake up. We're here,”

 

The car rocked again as Kagami jumped back out. Moving around to Aomine’s door, his chuckling was still audible from inside the car. As Kagami flung open the car door Aomine woke with a jolt and a lot of swearing. Kagami’s chuckling had changed to howls of laughter as Aomine flailed around to try and stop him from falling. His attempts didn’t work, as he disappeared from view with a thud and Kagami’s laughter increased. The swearing grew louder as Aomine scrambled to his feet, angrily shoving Kagami. Kagami pushed back, his laughter soon becoming breathless as the shoving soon turned into wrestling. It reminded Kise of little boys roughhousing. He was pretty sure they would have continued the back and forth blows if it wasn’t for a loud shout.

Kuroko hopped out of the car and Kise followed, pulling his bag out with him. A crowd of intimidating people had gathered around the other side of the car. They all wore matching black uniforms, similar to what Aomine had been wearing, and matching stern expressions. Kise bent down to try and whisper a question to Kuroko, but the smaller man put a finger to his lips.

Now he was outside the car Kise could properly see around the new area. The first thing his tired eyes noticed about the new location was how bright everything was. The second thing was that they were in some large room. Cold, bright lights bounced off spotless walls, creating an imposing atmosphere. Everywhere looked clean and professional, and definitely not somewhere Kise wanted to be. But where his eyes lingered, the impressive facade had already begun to fall away. Kise was quickly starting to notice the wall’s off grey colour. The small but noticeable cracks in the wall had become more apparent and he could see how every other light was slightly dimmer than the last. It was as if someone had forgotten about it and just left it to ruin. A number of cars were dotted around the room, but even the best of them had a number of scratches and dents. Kise could feel a chill start to spread through his body. His brow grew heavier and any question stuck in his throat. The room’s air seemed crushing and Kise was increasingly aware of the lack of noise. He scanned the room again and again, but still the same information kept popping up.  _ Or lack of. _

“Where are all the people?” Kise tried to ask, but the words felt heavy and didn’t come out right.There should have been hundreds of survivors crowding the car park. Where were the people that had been picked up? Where were the remains of humanity? Could there really be  _ this _ little people left in the world? There must be more- The woman on the walkie talkie had said they were searching for survivors. Why would they search that if they hadn’t found anyone yet? In the background no.2 was whining, the noises bouncing off the plain walls.

 

“Oi goldylocks!”

 

Kise looked up to see Kagami waving him over from the other side of the car. Kuroko gently pushed him forward and the crowd parted for the two to get through. Kise felt like a hen passing through a gang of foxes. They all looked far stronger and far more capable of killing someone than Kise could ever. If Kuroko hadn’t been standing beside him, Kise would have felt  _ very  _ out of place. When he got to the middle, he could see Aomine looking vaguely pissed off. He seemed to be ignoring whatever Kagami was saying beside him, earning him a playful nudge on his shoulder. Aomine returned a sarcastic grin and the two looked like they were about to start something up again. Before anything could start, a smaller figure stepped in between the two and fixed Kise with a quizzical stare. The new person was a young woman about Kise’s age with a short crop of caramel coloured hair. Despite her small stature, her stare would have been enough to intimidate a body builder into doing whatever she wanted and Kise could feel chills start to spread down his back. Someone behind her had fixed his glasses and placed a hand lightly on her shoulder, leaning forward to whisper something in her ear. Immediately her face broke out into a grin and Kise’s body felt lighter, as if all the tension in the room had physically disappeared.

 

“So you must be the guy behind the radio?” she asked, her cheery voice quietly reverberating around the room. When Kise looked confused, she held up a small rectangular box, “It’s pretty amazing it actually worked,”

Kise’s eyebrows raised slightly as he felt realisation flood his brain and he smiled back. “Yeah, we sure were lucky … and it’s Kise,”

The girl smiled again, this time more formally, and gestured to herself, “I’m Riko Aida, the head of this base. I’m in charge of the recall teams and the people they find, the latter including these two,” she nodded at Aomine and Kagami, who had already started a new argument in the short time Kise had turned away. Riko didn’t seem very amused at this, using a small jab in each ribs to end the matter. She looked back to Kise and in a curt, almost practised voice, asked for his questions.

“Are my friends safe?” Kise replied immediately, not caring if he seemed too worried.

Riko nodded, briefly looking at a watch before re-addressing Kise. “They came in an hour ago and should have finished going through their medical examinations.”

“Can I see them?”

Kise noticed the young woman fidgeting but she did not break eye contact. “Yes but not now,” she must have seen Kise try to interject but continued, her voice raising slightly. It seemed like she had had practise facing difficult situations like this. “As what happens to all new retrievals, they had to go through an examination. It can take a long time and retrievals are usually tired after. You won’t be seeing them tonight.”

Kise could feel his heart plummet. A lump had started to form in the back of his throat. With no more adrenaline keeping the exhaustion away, his body was feeling heavier and heavier. He focused on a spot on the ground, trying to squash the growing feeling of dread. Up until then, Momoi and Himuro were the only company Kise could get. Yes, there had been bad days, days when he even grew annoyed with it. Yet now, surrounded by all these new people, Kise felt like he needed that company most. It was a new setting and uneasiness had began to settle in his stomach like a disease. 

 

“Hey Riko, he’s probably tired from everything he’s been through. Making this longer isn’t gonna help that.”

Kise looked up at the deep voice, making brief eye contact with Aomine. Riko nodded, concentrating on something else for a bit before shaking the thought away and turning to him, “Kise, can you please follow Hyuga here? He’ll take you to the medical ward.” The bespectacled man behind her stepped up, the two exchanging a nod before Hyuga started making for the one of the room’s large doors. Kise started to follow before hesitating and looking back towards the group. He had wanted to thank Kuroko for the sweet from earlier, but it seemed Riko had already pulled the three of them aside to talk. From Kagami’s frown to Kuroko’s slightly furrowed brow, it looked important- probably not the sort of thing he should interrupt. His gaze locked onto Aomine’s before the other scowled and turned away. What had he been staring at? Had it been Kise?

 

The guy in front of him yelled back, quickly catching his attention once more. Giving Aomine’s direction one more glance, he turned and followed his guide out of the room.

 

* * *

 

Kise felt exhausted and he was pretty sure the man in front of him was aware of that. The lights in the room had started to cause a small throbbing headache and it took every ounce of focus not to close his eyes and drift off.

After leaving the car park, Kise had been quickly lead to the new room. It had a similar clean but worn look, something he guessed would be a recurring theme in the base. Sections of the room where hidden behind large medical curtains and very few of the lights had been on, leaving most of the room bathed in shadows. Everything about the new room gave Kise an uneasy feeling, the type that a child would get on their first visit to a hospital. He had then been assured over to the side of the room where a man wearing a white lab coat was sitting, who quickly introduced himself as Izuki.

 

“Umm … Kise?”

 

Kise shook himself back into focus and smiled apologetically at Izuki. “I’m sorry, it’s a bit hard staying awake,” Kise said, bringing his hand up to rest on the back of his neck. The other smiled back and placed the clipboard he had been holding gently on the desk.

“ _ I’m  _ sorry you have to go through all this now. Unfortunately it is mandatory. If we didn’t check everyone’s health, then there might be some difficulties. That’s something we must avoid at all costs,” Izuki didn’t have to say much more for Kise to understand. They didn’t have the same luxury he’d had with Momoi and Himuro. With their small group, they could easily afford to trust each other, but with the larger group - Kise could understand their hesitation. “Don’t worry though, we only have one more thing left and then I can relieve you,”

Izuki had stood up and started to fiddle in some of the draws. Kise allowed his mind to wander back to Momoi and Himuro. What if something had happened? What if they had failed the examination? They were both physically fit and perfectly healthy, so the only way they wouldn’t have been able to pass was if … Kise felt a lump rise, uncomfortably barring its way in his throat. They were careful people, they always had been. None of them would be careless enough to slip up and make a mistake like that. It was a stupid idea. Kise knew that, but the thought had settled and was starting to spread like some deadly poison. Kise’s palms had began to get clammy and he quickly pressed them into his trousers to try and get rid of the moisture.

 

“Izuki,” the other looked up at the mention of his name. “Is it possible to know how my friends did in the examination?”

Izuki pondered for a bit, leaning back on the desk he had been rummaging through. After what seemed like careful consideration, he slowly shook his head.

“I’m afraid I can’t say. I have confidentiality with all the people I treat, with Riko as the exception. But I can say they both passed and you definitely will be able to see them …tomorrow,” he replied. It didn’t seem like Kise would be able to find out more about his friends  _ until _ tomorrow. The thought did nothing to calm his nerves and the feeling of uneasiness still sat at the bottom of his stomach. At least they hadn’t been bitten.

 

“Please hold out your arm,” Kise compiled the Izuki’s request, only to jerk it back when the other held up a large needle.

“What is that? We already did my blood test,” Kise said, his tone raising with shock. His arm was still hurting from the last injection and he didn’t fancy another one. Izuki laugh and moved the needle up so kise could see the contents. It must have been a trick of the light, but it almost looked as if the substance inside was glowing.

“It’s a tracker chip,” Izuki responded, waving his hand to cut off any of Kise’s upcoming retaliations. “It monitors one’s vitals and location. If someone gets lost or left behind, this is a foolproof way of finding them again. It isn’t clever enough to detect the person’s full state, but it does give us a good idea of whether that person is alive, dead or … other.”

Kise still wasn’t convinced, and it must have been clear from his expression. Izuki pulled back his sleeve and pointed at a small area on the inside of his arm. A dull but recognisable glow seemed to be emulating from the skin. He continued, “Everyone in the base has one of these, even our best and most trusted. I can promise you, as soon as you are moved, we will deactivate it and it will be taken out.” He carefully eyed Kise.

“Do I have much of a choice?” Kise asked and Izuki shock his head. 

“It is just there so we can keep you safe. That is our top priority,” Izuki said. He sounded so genuine and Kise didn’t have any reason to believe they would harm him.  _ It is for my safety _ . With a small sign, Kise lifted his arm. As the needle was raised to his arm, there was a clicking sound and Kise felt his body jerk as the glowing substance was pushed inside his arm.

He accepted a bandage from Izuki with the promise that “any potential scarring will be mended tomorrow”. His arm was now throbbing and Kise energy levels were finally running out. “At least it’s foolproof,” he muttered to himself as he was directed towards the doors.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see!
> 
> I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update - there was lost of end of school exams and uni stuff I had to sort out - but now I'm back.  
> This is a pretty short and kinda boring bit, but I wanted to get it out before too long. But I'll be updating with the next chapter pretty soon, so stay tune.
> 
> And thank you everyone for reading it!!


	5. Getting lost and sparring pools

The bunk creaked as Kise rolled onto his back. He had no idea how long he had been lying there, but it was as if the very idea sleep had rejected him. His hair had dried from the shower he’d previously had and he had given up on trying to count the passing seconds. How was it that moments before he had felt like he would have slept through a fireworks show and now every little noise jolted him awake. Maybe it was nerves or some left over effects of adrenaline. Whatever it was, Kise was restless. He idly stared into the darkness. There wasn’t any light in the room, so he couldn’t make out much past the bottom of the mattress above him. He tried to re imagine the other bunks he’d seen before - it worked to a nerving effect. Thinking of that many bare bunks caused Kise’s overtired mind to jump to alarming places. When Kise asked about it, Hyuga only shrugged and said he would only have to stand it for one night. By this point, he was positive they definitely had brought in multiple survivors in the past. So where  _ had _ all the other people gone?

“This isn’t working,” Kise muttered and sat up in the bed. He had misjudged where the top bunk was and his skull made an uncomfortable thud on the struts above him. Wincing, Kise clutched his head as a dull throbbing started up, adding to the already hazy feeling of tiredness. After a second of waiting for the pounding to subside, Kise became impatient and swung his legs over the side of the bed. There hadn’t sounded like there was any sound outside his room. They must trust him enough to not be bothered with leaving him with a guard. Or maybe they had just assumed he was too tired. Kise smiled to himself. If he couldn’t sleep and they’d left him without supervision, then maybe he could try to look around.

 

The door slid open without much resistance and Kise felt himself squint at the sudden light. The hallway was only dimly lit but his eyes were still adjusting from the total darkness from before. There was nothing friendly about the interior of this base. The grey walls of the hallway gave off a cold vibe and despite the low light, he was starting to see patches on the walls where paint had worn off. Even the lights gave off a harsh glare, bathing small random sections of the hallways in white light. It must have all looked very tidy back in it’s day. It was probably even considered modern, but now no one could bother to keep that appearance up and the base had suffered for it.

The further he moved through the base, the brighter and more consistent the lights got. It probably meant he was getting close to the important areas. He still hadn’t run into anyone yet. Even without all the survivors, Kise had expected there to be a lot more people. It certainly  _ looked _ as if the base had been made for more people, like it had been a big military base or something in the past. With somewhere that seemed so fortified, is was weird that it wasn’t being utilised by the government in some other form. Then again, he wasn’t even sure if the government still existed. Maybe these guys were an independent force, dedicating themselves to finding survivors. Kise thought back to all the empty bunks. “Great job,” He said aloud, the sarcastic words bouncing around the empty space. 

 

“Thanks for the praise, Princess,” Kise jumped as an arm was slung over his shoulders, triggering a small but incredibly noticeable squeak to also escaped. Seemed not even the apocalypse could change his jumpy composure. A low chuckle echoed off the walls of the hallway. Looking up, he recognised a familiar smirk. Both playful and challenging in it’s composure. Just the person he wanted to run into late at night.

“You clean up well! I almost didn’t recognise you there,” Aomine said, chuckling again as Kise pushed him off his shoulders. It was a half hearted action but it worked.

“Believe it or not, there don’t tend to be a lot of showers in the apocalypse,” Kise replied, unconsciously fiddling with his hair. “Besides, I prefer Kagami’s nickname,”

Aomine snorted, “What, ‘Goldilocks’? It’s a stupid nickname. You sure that’s not because it’s Kagami’s and not mine?”

“Maybe,”

“Yeah right! We both know you suit mine more,” 

“You so sure about that?” Kise said back, hearing Aomine’s short laugh in response. Almost despite himself, Kise was starting to smile. He felt light, as if the tiredness had disappeared.

 

When Aomine’s spoke again, his tone had shifted from playful into thinly veiled curiosity “It’s late. What are you doing out here?”

As Kise looked up, he saw Aomine carefully watching him. Or more specifically, his face. Goodbye light feeling. A slight frown was hardening the other’s features. Kise almost felt like it was supposed to be intimidating and he wasn’t even sure the other was aware he was doing it. He watched Aomine’s gaze sweep over his features, emotionless and calculating. It dawned on Kise. He was being analysed, watched to see if he would lie or give something away. What? Did Aomine think he was some kind of spy? He’d be severely disappointed. Still … Kise didn’t want to do anything that would  warrant unnecessary suspicion. 

“Couldn’t sleep” Kise said simply, shrugging. The was nothing to hide, he'd just be as honest as he could. 

Aomine’s eyebrow raised, the rest of his face keeping it’s cold expression. “So you decided to wander around a military base at night? By yourself?”

Kise nodded, trying to appear unbothered by the accusation. Aomine didn’t have to say much for Kise to get it had sounded suspicious. It was probably  _ the _ most suspicious response he could give, Aomine would be careless not to question it. Besides, most people wouldn’t opt for snooping around a military base in favour of sleeping. But then again he wasn’t exactly use to sleeping alone, or in proper beds. All these years, and Kise had always been in the company of Momoi and Himuro. They had been like a safe space, But now he had been thrown into a new, uneasy situation and left to deal with it on his own. The cold feeling of anxiety had started to grown inside his head, like an unwelcome headache.

 

“Really?

 

“I don’t know what else to tell you, this place is creepy as hell to sleep in,” Kise left out the  _ alone _ part. “My door wasn’t locked and there wasn’t anyone guarding it, so I thought no one would mind.”

Aomine hesitated. He looked at Kise once more before nodding to himself. His expression softened slightly, only his eyes remaining as sharp, and he held up his hands. His voice had softened too, though it could be easily missed. “Look, you can’t just be walking around by yourself. You aren’t trusted enough and don’t have the clearance. Plus someone like you will only get lost-”

“Thanks for the honesty,” Kise muttered. He was sure Aomine could hear the heavy sarcasm but ignored it. Though Kise was sure he saw him smile, if even for a split second.

“ _ But _ you could if you had a guide,” Aomine said, his old smirk returning. Everything from his posture to the slow drawl in his voice reeked of arrogance.

“And what, you want me to beg?” Kise almost scoffed. 

Aomine stopped as if he was pondering something then grinned at Kise, “Well now you mention it, begging  _ would _ be nice-” Kise had started to try and walk off but Aomine moved in front of him, gesturing to himself. “- look, I’m know the area and I've got nothing better to do. Why don’t I be your guide?”

Kise frowned at the suggestion. The guy had sounded genuine, but why would he offer this, especially with no catches. Aomine didn’t seem like the type of guy who would do anything without some sort of equal trade and Kise didn’t want to owe him anything.

“No thank you, I can find my own way round,” Kise answered, plastering a fake smile on his face. He quickly turned down one of the close corridors and started walking off.

The soft thud of footsteps echoed in the hallway behind him. Aomine must have decided to give up and go back to whatever he was doing before. Kise’s smile shifted from fake to self pleased. Kise:1 Aomine: 0. 

 

That feeling of victory didn’t last very long.

 

The footsteps behind Kise had not grown any quieter, and now he was paying attention, they didn’t sound any different to when he first heard them. As he glanced back to check, his smile dropped immediately. He felt a spike of annoyance as he saw Aomine slowly walking behind him, hands in pockets and moving with an arrogant air that would make one think he owned the place. Of course! It was stupid to think this guy would give up. Kise glared at the other only to have a small smirk in return. He had just wanted to look around the base with as little hassle as possible. But now he seemed to be getting the exact opposite. Would he rather run into a zombie? Probably. At least in that case, a violent response would be acceptable.

“Why are you following me?” Kise shouted over his shoulder. 

“I told you; you can’t go around by yourself,”

“So you’re what? Coming with me?”

“Yes, and saving you the trouble of getting told off,”

“ _ Thank you, _ ” Kise’s words were dripping with fake serenity and sarcasm, but he could hear the other chuckling behind him. It was like pouring salt on a wound and Kise felt his mood sour but made no attempt to retaliate. Maybe if he ignored Aomine, he would get bored and leave.

 

They continued like that for a while, Kise turning down random corridors and stopping occasionally to look into empty rooms with Aomine close behind. He had no thought of where he was going past his new goal of trying to lose his  _ guide _ . But in his state of little care, he had quickly lost  _ himself.  _ Everywhere had that same worn look. All the dark rooms had blended into one and the harsh light was starting to give Kise a headache. Or maybe that was the fault of his new companion. He slowed down as the two neared the end of the current corridor with two adjacent ones leading off it. As he was contemplating which corridor would help him appear less lost, Aomine came to a stand still next to him.

Aomine moved to lean against the side of the wall, his arms folded against his chest. The position had pushed his shoulders up and Kise was becoming increasingly aware of how broad they were. Hard muscles ran along his arms, probably developed and defined through tough training. Even in the relaxed pose, it gave him an imposing air. Aomine was no normal survivor. Kise understood more than anyone the importance of being fit; their group had seen their fair share of survivors being just a little too slow or weak to make it. But Aomine’s physique didn’t look as if it had been developed during survival. Kise thought back to when he had first met Aomine, the skill he’d shown. Someone like him must have been thoroughly and carefully trained for survival _before_ the apocalypse. Maybe that's also where he got all the confidence. If Kise was being honest with himself, it was also quite attractive. If it wasn’t for the apocalypse, Kise could see this guy being quite popular. Only on face value though. 

Aomine cleared his throat, bringing Kise back to focus, and raised his eyebrows. “Where now, princess?” he asked as he shot Kise a coy smile. Kise looked back at the paths, feigning concentration over where to go next. “You still good finding your way around?” Kise tried to focus on one of the signs on the nearby doors. All he got was some military jargon he didn’t understand.

 

“You’re lost aren’t you?”

 

Kise felt his face start to heat at the suggestion and his fists clenched around the edge of his shirt. “Not lost … just-”

A bark of laughter bounced off the plain walls. Kise could feel it burrow into his skull until it was the only thing rebounding around his brain. He shot Aomine a sideline glare. If curses and ill fortune existed, he was sending it all to Aomine. The other was grappling the wall for support, his broad shoulders shaking in time to the laughter. If anything, Kise’s annoyed expression only seemed to backfire, causing any remnants of a straight face Aomine had been trying to keep crumble.

“You don't know how long I've been holding that in!” Aomine said through the laughter. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It's been obvious for a while now. Either you're a crap liar, or I'm just really good,”

_ Yeah right, like Kise would admit to either of those. _

 

The dim lights had left many shadows skirting the edges of the hallway. With the absence of just about anything, the base seemed more and more like an abandoned building. It was all starting to weigh down on Kise. He thought that wandering around the base might have taken his mind off everything, but instead it had seemed to make it worse. 

Goosebumps had started to appear up his arms and the thin shirt he had been given wasn’t doing much to keep the warmth in. Looking down, he felt himself grimace. The full grey of the shirt was exactly the same colour as the concrete walls.  _ One night in and I'm already turning into this place  _ he thought, bitterly pulling at the edges. 

The slow thud of shoes on concrete echoed through the hallway. As Kise looked up, he saw the back of Aomine turn into one of the adjacent hallways. 

“Hey,” Kise yelled after the other, momentarily stepping after him. 

Aomine briefly stopped and raise his eyebrows. “Yeah?”

“Where are we going?”

Aomine shrugged “ _ I'm _ going to the kitchen,” he then turned back and continued walking down the hallway before briefly yelling back over his shoulder, an edge of smugness lining the words.  “You don't have to follow if you don't want to,”

 

Slowly the feeling of embarrassment was starting to creep up on him. Aomine was finally giving him the chance to be on his own, something he had wanted since the two had bumped into each other. He could just continue his own wandering. Alone. In a base where he didn't even know his current location or how to get back to his room. And Aomine knew that. Kise looked back around at the empty hallway and the dull walls. Now Kise was feeling more alone, everything felt a little more draining. Kise would never admit it, but a tinge of fear from the unfamiliar setting had started to creep over his body. “Damn you,” Kise muttered to himself and ran after the other.

 

* * *

 

 

The two remained quiet for the rest of the walk, quickly falling into step with each other. The silence may have been awkward or even uncomfortable at another time, but Kise felt too tired and he doubted Aomine was the type of person to care much about that sort of thing. After a while the locked rooms started to look more familiar and the brightness of the lights had dimmed. At some point they had even passed by a few other people, though they all took little interest in the pair. One of the stationary soldiers gave a silent nod to Aomine who nodded back.

 

After a while, Aomine lead Kise out into an open room and flicking a side switch. A panel of bright lights blinked into life, throwing light over several cabinets and surfaces.  After squinting for a bit, Kise recognised the clean lines and tiled surfaces of a kitchen. The rest of the room remained draped in shadows, though Kise could see the shapes of various sofas and chairs scattered in the darkness. Looking back at the kitchen, it was clear it had seen better days, with some of the applicants leaving him to wonder if they even still worked. The only thing that looked out of place was a large glass jar that sat in the center of the counter top. One side was covered with black smudges, but despite this it seemed to be shining. No, thought Kise, not shining. Whatever was inside was catching the light and reflecting it back. Coins?. It had been a long time since Kise had seen money. 

“What’s this?” Kise asked, flicking the glass before turning to Aomine. The other had been fiddling round with something and didn't turn round. 

“So you  _ can _ speak. I was starting to think you’d lost your voice,” Aomine said, amusement lining the edge of his voice. Kise mad a face at his back only to drop it as the other briefly glanced over his shoulder. 

“It’s a pool. A sparring pool,” Aomine said and Kise could now hear the sound of bubbling. As Kise pushed himself onto the counter top, steam had started to waft up and cloud around the lights.

 

“Whose winning?”

“See for yourself,”

 

Kise looked again at the glass. On second inspection, the dark smudges separated into characters and eventually names. He recognised Kagami’s name, repeated multiple times around the jar, but like other names it had been scribbled out. Only one name was left untouched.

 

“You!” Kise exclaimed, failing in trying to hide his excitement.

 

“I am the best,” Aomine said, but there wasn’t any sound of gloating. Instead, it just sounded like Kise was being told a fact. Still arrogant, Kise thought to himself.

“Looks like Kagami is on there a few times,”

“Never wins it for long and it’s not hard taking it back from him,”

“Doesn’t seem that worth it for the prize.”

Aomine had turned entirely to face Kise now and shot him a questioning glance. “I didn’t think money was still worth something,” Kise shrugged, leaning back onto his hands. The counter was cool around his palm, the smooth surface giving off an unfamiliar and almost forgotten feel.

“It’s not money,”

 

“Huh?” instead of answering again, Aomine had just gestured back at the jar before turning back around and preoccupying himself. Frowning, Kise picked up the jar and held it for a closer inspection. Aomine was right. Instead of coins, the jar contained small oblong shapes. Kise held it sideways and the shapes started to roll over each other, each time releasing a metal twang. “Batteries?!” Kise carefully placed the jar down, feeling himself unconsciously reach for his pocket. Batteries were invaluable. It was hard finding them and even harder finding working ones. He could feel his hands reaching out to the lid, itching to get to the batteries.

 

“Not so fast, twinkle toes,” Kise jumped slightly and turned to see Aomine looking back at him from over his shoulder. “Don’t think of nicking any.” His tone was playful but as they locked eyes, Kise saw a warning. Guess the mistrust was mutual.

 

Before Kise could object, he felt something warm pressed into his hands. “If you really want the batteries, you’ve got to win it fair and square. Now drink,”

Kise eyed the liquid only to hear a grunt. “It’s tea, nothing weird. It’ll help you fall asleep.”

“What is the military doing with tea during a time of crisis?” Kise asked, but the other was fiddling with something else, the unanswered question being left to hang in the air. Raising the cup to his mouth, he could smell mint. It almost smelt  fresh. It was so normal, so out-of-place. “Look, it’s cute of you to make me tea but I don’t-”

“Don’t expect this often, it’s just a one time thing,” Aomine said. His tone sounded harder, almost as if he was saying  _ Don’t read into it too much _ . Maybe he had hit a nerve. Kise didn’t realise that people like Aomine had nerves to hit. 

 

“So how do I enter the sparring matches?” Kise asked, pausing before flashing Aomine a smile, “I mean, you shouldn’t be too hard to beat.”

“Is that a challenge?” Aomine smiled back, and for the first time it didn’t annoy Kise.

“I guess you’ll have to find out,”

“I look forward to it,”

 

A chill settled over Kise, as if a draft had moved through the space. Looking back into the shadowy part of the room, Kise could now make out what looked to be a pool table. Cue sticks had been discarded on the floor next to it, with the surface looking more like a cluttered top of a work table. Seemed it was being used for other things. Kise thought back to the empty bunks of his room and deserted corridors he’d passed through. Weren’t bases like this supposed to be filled to the brim, where resources were scarce and survivors would have to volunteer to go without food? Maybe he was thinking too much of the movies he’d seen. By now he should have learnt that those pieces of fiction was nothing compared to the reality. But there was still an off feeling. Everyone had seemed hospitable enough, but Kise could help but think back to rumours he had heard from passing survivors.

 

“Where is everyone?” Kise asked. Looking at Aomine, he noticed him cock his head slightly.

“Well some of our guys or still out in the field, and the rest are sleeping-”

“No,” Kise interrupted, ignoring Aomine’s annoyed look. “Where are all the  _ people _ ?”

“You mean … survivors? Like you?” Kise nodded to Aomine’s question. Aomine signed, looking away from Kise as if he was thinking. He muttered something to himself before answering again, “They’ve been sent on,”

“That’s a bit ominous,” Kise quipped, being careful to keep the slight worry out of his voice.

 

Aomine paused again. “This is only a temporary base. We are stationed in an area - in one of these bases - and our objective is to find all the survivors of that area and bring them in. If they’re not infected, they get sent off to some big safe area.”

“A next base? The doctor said something like that,” Kise’s fingers idly tapped the mug, the surface smooth and warm against his skin. “So … that’s what will happen to me and my friends?”

 

“Usually,” 

“And what is this “big safe area”? Sounds a little ....” 

“Fake?”

“Your words not mine,”

 

Aomine sighed, irritably scratching the back of his neck. “It’s not something I know a lot on. Riko’s the only one who  _ really _ knows the ins and outs. But we wouldn’t send people there if there was even a remote chance that it wasn’t safe.”

They locked gaze again. Kise’s brow quirked up. He wanted to know more and Aomine knew it. But his voice had made it clear he wasn’t continuing on that particular subject. There was something Aomine wasn’t telling Kise, and he wasn’t trying to hide it.

 

“So what about if you want to stay?”

“Stay?” Aomine had said it as if it had been a joke, and even after Kise nodded, the other kept his amused expression. “I guess if you’re good enough, Riko would ask you to stay and help. But it’s not something I’d recom-”

“ _ Good enough _ ? So me then?”

Aomine laughed, a short bark that echoed around the kitchen. Kise could feel the weight in the air start to lift off, as if a fog was slowly clearing. “Nice try,”

“I  _ am  _ good!”

“Sure sure, tell that to the zombie I had to rescue you from,”

“I had it all sorted,” Kise muttered, glaring at the other. It earned him another laugh and as he watched the other, Kise felt a warmth start to grown in his chest. Must be the tea. He placed his mug back on the counter top before leaning back, pressing his palms into the cold plastic. “So is that what happened to you then? You were asked to stay?”

 

“Nope, been here since day one,” Aomine said, coming to rest against the cupboards next to Kise.

“Day one, that must have been … chaotic,” Aomine hummed in agreement. The cold from the counter was starting to seep into his fingers. “So what are you, an army boy?”

“Not how you’d think,”

_ Not how you’d think?  _ What was that supposed to mean? Kise looked back at Aomine, hoping to catch his eye. If he could just decipher something, anything from what that meant… But Aomine was staring at a spot on the floor, his face unreadable. In fact it was more than that. It felt like an expression Kise had never properly seen before. Something caught in the foggy cross section of frustration, remorse and yearning. Maybe asking really was the only way to get discover it.

 

“Wha-”

 

“Not this time, princess!” Aomine interrupted before Kise could properly finish the first word, waving away his irritation and confusion. “I think I’ve answered enough of your questions for one night. It’s your turn,”

“There’s nothing to know,”

“Yeah right,”

“It’s pretty boring,”

“How boring can anything really be in a zombie wasteland?”

Kise groaned, throwing his head back in annoyance. The steam had long since dispersed, leaving Kise to properly see the kitchen lights. Not that it was a pretty sight. Like most of the building, it was well past its glory days. His fingers had began to tap against the counter top, drumming the life back into the numb/cold fingers. From his position, his eyes darted to Aomine, then to the lights, then back to Aomine. The other was looking at Kise, forehead scrunched and eyebrows raised. It was almost like an expectant dog.

 

Signing loudly, Kise hunched back. Slowly nodding at Aomine, he prepared himself for the first question. “Fine then,”

“So what happened to you before all of this?” Aomine asked.

“I survived, what’s there to tell,” 

“No before,”

“You mean, before the outbreak?”

“Yeah,”

 

_ Oh. _ Now that’s a question. Kise hadn’t thought about  _ that  _ time in a while.

  
  


He could recall snippets of a conversation with Momoi. “It’s best not to remember,” she had said. Something about it being “Too rough of a comparison,” or  “It only makes it worse,”. A lump had risen in his throat. His mind felt empty. He could remember snatches, but it was like wading through a dense fog. And that’s all they were; snatches. The facts were there. But the faces?

 

“Princess?”

 

Kise jolted back, looking sharply up. Aomine’s face shifted, his usual smirk dropping. His eyes had taken on a seriousness. His cheeks still felt dry, but as he blinked, he could feel a slight sting. The lump had moved into his throat.

“Why do you want to know anyway?”

The words had come out harsh, shocking Kise. He hadn’t intended, it must have just been a reflex, but it was too late. Aomine was already holding his hands up in mock defense. “Fine fine, you don’t have to tell me,” he muttered, turning to scope something into the sink behind him. “But you owe me a answer,”

  
  


“Tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Zombies just some good-old conversations.
> 
> Also I'm really hoping to start making this a bit more frequent.
> 
> All the comments from last chapter were so so kind! Everyone of them made my day and I was smiling like an idiot. If there's any feedback or constructive criticisms then go for it, it would help a lot ^^
> 
> And thank you everyone for reading! I hope you all enjoyed it.


	6. Reunions and Rumours

Every twang of the metal trays and load shout of conversation was drawing Kise further and further out of his own thoughts. His cheeks felt puffy and he was becoming increasingly aware that he had been staring at his plate for the last couple of minutes, trying and failing to get out of his sleepy haze. The canteen had the same hardened look as the rest of the base, but the atmosphere was different. Occasionally laughter would echo through the room and Kise could vaguely remember seeing an arm wrestling competition as he’d entered.  The table lurched again as Kagami threw himself back onto the attached benches, a new pot of yogurt in his hand. Further down the table, Kise could hear someone yelling something, to which Kagami laughed before promptly flipping them off. A couple of people around them had started to chuckling along with Kagami and even Kise felt himself smile.

Kise felt something nudge his arm, causing him to jump slightly in his seat. Kuroko was looking back at him, his expression as unreadable as the day before. Kise was starting to think it was the only expression he had. “Oh Kuroko, when did you get there?” Kise asked.

Kuroko blinked and for a second Kise thought that was all he was going to do. “No I’ve been here the whole time.”

“But-”

“Can I?”

It was Kise’s turn to look confused. He glanced down to where Kuroko was pointing towards the untouched yogurt pot on his tray before nodding slowly. Kuroko took no time in quickly grabbing the pot, and as he sat back to take off the lid, Kise thought he saw the other smile to himself.

“So you’ve finally seen Kuroko’s magic trick!?” Kagami chipped in, turning to face the two.

“It’s not magic,”

“But it’s a trick all right,” Kagami said, pausing slightly to wink at Kuroko. Kuroko didn’t respond, seeming more interested in his own yogurt. “Oh right, I got this for you,” Kagami continued, momentarily leaning forward to place his stolen yogurt onto Kuroko’s tray. The two locked eye contact, Kuroko giving out another small smile to match Kagami’s wide grin. Kise almost felt as if the two were having some unspoken conversation.

 

“Tetsu’s just got very little presence,”

 

Kise recognised the deep voice. Kise turned briefly, and sure enough Aomine was standing behind him.  _Did this guy ever stop walking up behind people?_  He had been looking towards the other two when he had spoken but as Kise looked up, they momentarily made eye contact. It was enough time for Aomine to flash him a small grin, his eyebrows quirking up as he did so.

“It’s been enough to freak you,” Kagami said, lazily leaning back on the bench. There was a small sigh from Kuroko that was almost inaudible over the loud laugh of Aomine. Kise might have even heard him mutter “again”.

“Not as much as you! ‘causes you to lose your shit  _ all the time _ ,” Aomine shot back, causing Kagami’s expression to turn gleeful. Something flashed in his eyes, something that looked like a challenge. Kise could almost feel Aomine leaning forward to accept whatever unsaid challenge had been issued. He hadn’t realised these fights were sparked so quickly. Kise wondered how close Aomine was to leaning over him. As he moved to straighten himself, he felt his head bump against something. Pretty close after all.

“Yeah well at least I didn’t end up crying,”

“Crying? Like you when you first met no. 2?”

“I wasn’t scared of the little basta-” Kagami started before breaking off with a grunt. He shot a glare in the direction of Kuroko. The other just blinked at Kagami with an almost innocently plain expression. “At least I didn’t think it was a ghost”

“Shut it!” Aomine retorted, glaring at Kagami’s laughter before sitting down promptly in the empty seat next to Kise.

“Ghosts?” Kise asked, a small smile lighting up his features.

“Don’t listen to that guy. He’s an idiot,” Aomine waved the question away, ignoring the sound of Kagami’s objections. “Anyway - Sleep well, princess?” Aomine asked, his features shifting into a smug, self satisfied grin.

“Only after you’d left,” Kise’s own smile grew as Kagami's let out a low whistle. Kise raised his eyebrows, causing Aomine to snort.

“What happened?” Kagami cut in, leaning forward in curiosity (and to try and break back into the conversation)

“Nothing too exciting, our new friend got a little lost and I helped him out,” Aomine replied.

“Not that you helped much”

“You know how it sounds right?” Kagami cut himself off, looking at Kuroko for back up.

Kuroko shrugged and shook his head. “Kagami you shouldn’t be nosey,”

“What? I’m just saying-”

“Got something for you,” When Aomine spoke next it was quieter. This time directly to Kise, leaving Kagami and Kuroko to their bickering. His tone had dipped, giving the statement a more serious sound. Kise’s brow twitched down, almost creating a frown but Aomine was already stepping away from the table. _ This guy has really got to stop expecting people to follow,  _ Kise thought bitterly to himself before pushing away from the table. As he ran to catch up with Aomine, he could already see Kagami leaning over the table to try and snag any food Kise had left, dangerously tipping the table in the process.

 

“Hey, what is it?” Kise asked when he finally fell into step with Aomine. They were skirting around the edge of the canteen and Kise could feel eyes follow him. Despite the canteen sounding loud with jokes and excited shouts, the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. Maybe everyone was just curious. Maybe he’d been the first survivor they’d seen in a while.

“You’ll see,” Aomine replied, coming to a standstill near the doors. Kise gave him a puzzled look but before he had time to ask again something barreled into him. He felt the air get momentarily knocked out of him, his shoes skidding loudly on the floor as he desperately tried to keep himself from falling. His brain kicked into gear and already a jolt of adrenaline was running through his body. But as he regained his balance, he was aware of a chuckling. Whatever had crashed into him was now clinging onto his front, but it felt warm and almost soft. This definitely was not a zombie. As he looked down he instantly recognised the bright  hair that was now being burrowed into his chest.

“That’s the last time I’m listening to that bastard radio,”

As Kise looked up, the familiar face of Himuro smiled back at him and it was all he could do to suppress the lump that had risen to his throat.

“We thought something had happened to you!” Momoi said, barely audible from where her head was pressed into the top. “When you didn’t come out I thought a Zombie had gotten to you and we tried to come back but we’d already met with these guys and they had told us we needed to go and that they’d send someone to try and get you, but then the car needed to leave and you hadn’t got there yet and the there was no sign of you and I honestly thought you were dead, I couldn’t sleep at all last night I was so worried about you!” Kise gently stroked her hair, allowing her to gush out all the anxiety that had built up.

“Next time, don’t try and be so heroic,” Himuro muttered. Kise could tell he was trying to sound like he didn’t care, like he hadn’t experienced the exact same worry as Momoi had, but Kise could hear the tell-tale wobble in his voice. They had known each other through too much for Kise not to recognise it. Giving Himuro a weak smile, Kise pulled him into a hug. At that moment, he no longer cared that the whole canteen was looking at them. He wasn’t worried about the situation or what would happen to them after. He wanted to speak to Momoi and Himuro, tell them about what had happened, but the words didn’t come out. In that moment, all there was was relief.

 

“I’ll leave you guys to catch up,” Aomine said, bowing his head and turning to walk away.

“Wait Aomine-” Kise had started. At the time he wasn’t sure what he was planning to say. Maybe thank him? Maybe something else? But the moment the other’s name left his lips, Momoi’s head whipped round. Aomine had also stopped and turned back.

“Aomine … Daiki?” Momoi spoke slowly, and for the first time in a long while, Kise could hear the heartbreak in her words. Aomine frowned, looking at Momoi with an unreadable expression. Momoi repeated the name again, this time taking a step away from Kise and toward Aomine. “You…. You’re …” She couldn’t seem to be able to speak properly and from where he was standing, Kise could see her rub at her face.

“Satsuki?”

A small gasp escaped from Momoi, causing Kise and Himuro immediately exchange a glance. Satsuki was Momoi’s first name, but how would Aomine know that, or even be close enough with her to call her that.

“Of course, silly! Who else do you know with pink hair?!” Momoi broke the silence, launching herself at Aomine and wrapping her arms around him. Aomine stepped back, his arms going up in some form of (ultimately useless) defense. Momoi was muttering something in a long unbroken string of words that Kise couldn’t decipher, and the expression on Aomine was become harder to read. He looked irritated at first, but his glare was less harsh and his features softer. Slowly, he lowered his arms and gave Momoi a gentle squeeze, whispering something into her ear. Kise felt some unrecognisable emotion flash through his body, disappearing before he could fully figure it out.

After what felt like some time, Momoi pulled back from Aomine. She gave him a weak smile before her face quickly turned dark and she punched Aomine on the arm. The change was so sudden, Kise could feel a bit of fear seep in. Aomine made a surprised noise, rubbing his arm and staring accusingly at Momoi.

“What was that for?”

“That was for never contacting me!”

“If you haven’t noticed, there aren’t much telephones in out there!”

“I mean before, moron!!” Momoi’s voice strained, and Kise was even sure he heard it waver slightly. “You promised you'd come and visit me … you promised ...”

Aomine froze, his eyes darting in between Himuro and Kise, then back to Momoi. “I had some … complication,” There was a resistance to Aomine’s words, almost as if Momoi was about to uncover some vulnerability.

Before either could say anymore, Himuro waved his hands, stepping up next to Momoi. “I don’t want to interrupt anything, and trust me I don’t want to get in between this, but Momoi?

Momoi made a small “oh” sound and turned to face Kise and Himuro. “This is Daiki. We were childhood friends, practically grew up together…”

As she trailed off, Aomine moved next to her, patting her head (The action looked affectionate, but Kise wouldn’t guessed Aomine as the affectionate type). “She was always so annoying. Never getting off my back and always telling me off,”

“You needed it!” Momoi exclaimed, making a noise of irritation and puffing out her cheeks. She then turned to Aomine, throwing her arms over Himuro and Kise’s necks. With the height difference, she dragged both of their heads down and Kise was aware of her balancing herself on tiptoes. “I’ve been keeping these two alive! This is Himuro,” Himuro nodded at Aomine “and this is Kise,”

“Don’t worry, we’ve had some time to get to know each other already,” Aomine smiled at Kise to which Momoi gave Kise a curious look.

“He was the one who helped me yesterday,” Kise said, but Aomine raised his eyebrows.

“Don’t you mean  _ saved  _ you?”

Kise glared at Aomine but Momoi had started laughing and quickly cut in. “Sounds like you two are getting along. We use to go to college together - before all of this,”

Aomine hummed and looked like he was about to say something before Kagami interrupted, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Don’t think you could get away that easy,” Kagami said loudly, barely sparing a glance in the direction of Momoi and Himuro. Aomine gave him an annoyed look that quickly turned to confused. “Come on,  _ Riko _ ?”

Recognition flashed through Aomine as his features shifted. Without saying anything more, he nodded at Kagami and the two started to move quickly out of the canteen. Kagami turned round only to yell quickly to Kuroko, the other blinking in some unspoken agreement.

 

As Kise watched the two leave, his body unconsciously moved forward, only faltering as something shoot through his leg. Himuro noticed his slight wobble and moved next to him, acting as a support.

“You ok?” Himuro muttered, just loud enough for Kise to hear. He nodded, waving his hand to brush away the problem and ignoring the persistent look Himuro was giving him. Slowly he put weight back onto his foot. It felt weird but fine enough to stand on.

His leg. The whole reason he’d been separated from Himuro and Momoi. He’d forgotten about it until now, with the new setting having distracted him.

“Is everything alright?” Momoi said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m ok, there’s nothing serious” Kise said, standing back on his leg.

“You should have that looked at,” Kuroko said, appearing beside Kise. Momoi squeaked, jumping slightly back, and even Himuro looked shocked at the sudden appearance.

“No its-”

“I’ll take you there,”

Kuroko’s expression was as plain as ever but it almost felt as if there was something more to it.

 

As Kuroko started to lead them out of the canteen and down one of the corridors, Kise stayed beside him, leaning down slightly to talk quietly to Kuroko.

“Kuroko, Aomine kept on saying that today would be when we’re moved,”

Kuroko didn’t respond, only picking up his pace.

“No one has told me what is happening other than that we’ll find out today,”

Kuroko to ignore him again.

Momoi appeared on the other side of Kuroko, stepping in front of him and clasping his hands. Kuroko stopped, blinking back at her in what Kise could only assume was confusion.

“Please, we don’t know our situation or what is going to happen to us. It sounds like Kise knows more than Himuro and me - and that still isn’t very much. Please?”

Kuroko was still, but then Kise noticed his eyes flickering around. As Kise also looked around, he noticed several people on duty had stopped their conversations. A couple were even glancing in the group's direction.

“I’ll take you to the doctor and he’ll tell you what you need to know,”

“But the doctor-” Kise started before Momoi quickly cut him off, leaving him no space to finish.

“Of course, please continue,” As Momoi stepped out of his way Kuroko continued leading them down the corridor. Kise couldn’t help but notice the other had seemed to speed his pace.

 

* * *

 

Kise winced as tight bandage was pulled over his ankle. Izuki sigh, shaking his head as he pulled back. “It’s nothing too serious, probably a strained ligament. Luckily there doesn’t seem to be any cuts,”

“That’s better?” Momoi queried from her perch on one of the nearby hospital beds.

“Well you see, a cut can be extremely dangerous when infected. And in this world, its  _ very _  easy to get infected,”

_ In more ways than one _  Kise thought to himself, standing back onto his foot. It felt slightly tender and as he grimacing slightly he could feel Izuki watching closely.

“It feels fine, I can barely feel it,” Kise said, shrugging off the quizzical look both Momoi and Himuro were giving him.

Izuki also looked unimpressed. “It’s best just to keep it rested,” He said, turning and rooting through a draw before turning back to Kise. “I have some pain killers to give you if it feels weird,” Kise moved forward to try and take the pills but Izuki snatched them quickly away again “ _ but  _ please don’t overuse your ankle. Rest it,”

Kise nodded as Izuki slowly placed them in his palm, followed by a small cup of water.

 

“So we’re in the doctor’s office now, you can tell us what you couldn’t before,” Kise froze as Himuro spoke. He could see Momoi glare at Himuro, but the other didn’t seem to even notice, only focused on Kuroko and his unchanging face.

“What’s this?” Izuki said stepping back, glancing between the two before turning completely to Kuroko, “Tell them what?”

Kuroko remained unresponsive, only glancing briefly towards the door. After waiting for a bit, he turned back to the group.

“They wanted to know about what would happen to them,”

Izuki hummed, his expression shifting as his brow grew heavy. “Yes I see why you wanted to wait until now,”

“I assume its to do with not discussing it in the open?” Momoi chipped in. The others nodded.

“It’s something that is slightly … disagreed on within the base,” Izuki replied.

“Disagreed?”

“Well you see, we haven’t had the best luck,” Izuki spoke slowly, carefully picking his words and occasionally eyeing the door. “With you guys being the first survivors we’ve got in … well a very long time, most of us thought it was solved and any tension would go away,”

“What difficulties?” Kise asked, carefully watching Izuki. Momoi has started to tap the side of the hospital bed and Himuro had gone completely still, tell tale signs that he wasn’t the only one observing the doctor. At this question, Izuki had paused. Kise notice his eyes flick to Kuroko before returning to Kise. It was similar avoidance behaviour Aomine had shown last night.

Finally Kuroko spoke up. His words sounded blunt as usual, but there was an odd softness that lined the words. “A lack of contact with the main base.”

Kise almost felt the three of them coke their heads in unified confusion. Kuroko gave a small nod to Izuki before continuing. “This is only a temporary base, setup to find survivors in the area. 3 months ago, Riko got the order to return but refused to on the grounds that there were more survivors in the area. There are those in the base who disagree with that decision, those who do not trust her. Some even say that the higher ups dropped all connection with Riko because of that.”

“But that’s just a rumour?” Himuro cut in but Kuroko only carried on, paying little attention to the interruption.

“Your arrival should have stopped the unrest. You should have been sent off this morning and it would have proven the rumours false.”

“But we weren’t …”

Izuki shrugged, “It is starting to look suspicious. If Riko doesn’t sort it out, then we could have a mutiny on our hands.”

“That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” Kise scoffed, glancing at Momoi. Surely this was just jumping to conclusions. But when Momoi met his gaze, Kise instantly recognised concern.

The three of them jumped as the room was filled with a loud crackling. Kise’s hand flew to his pocket, feeling the dull weight of his radio. Not his. “Sorry about that,” Izuki said, hurrying to a small object that was hidden beside some bottles. “I can never figure out the volume of this thing,” Once he held it up, it instantly recognisable as some sort of cons (much newer and much better than Kise’s own). Himuro jokingly nudged Kise, but Kise shrugged it off. New didn’t always mean better. But now he thought about it … He carefully slipped his hand in his pocket, running his fingers along the object. Sure enough, he could feel a sharp crack running across the surface. He couldn’t remember if he’d turned it back on since he had fallen. If the crack was anything to go off it, he’d have to find some way to fix it.

“Speak of the devil,” Izuki spoke up, turning back to the group from where he had been hunched slightly over the comms. “Riko wants to see you guys,”

 

 

* * *

 

 

They arrived to shouting and cursing. Kuroko had slipped them in so quietly Kise doubted they had been heard over the raised voices. The room itself was just as imposing as the rest of the base, a large space where the shadowed corners only made it seem more ominous. The walls were almost completely covered in sheets of paper, writings and pictures that were all in turn obstructed by frantic scribbling. A large table stood in the middle, positioned in a way where almost all of the attention was drawn to it. Yet the surface was completely bare, unlike almost every other surface Kise had seen in the base. Even the medical bay’s counters had been covered in clutter. The wall in front of the table was covered in floor-to-ceiling monitors and screens that cast an eerie light onto its surroundings, perfectly silhouetting two figures who were locked in a very animated discussion. The screens on the edge seemed to be showing diagrams of sort but the screens of the very center were blank except for a single line of colour. Occasionally the screen would crackle and blink out, but the line would remain still.

“And what am I supposed to do!? Tell the rest of the base?”

“What else  _ can _  we do? I see no other way except-”

“You know we can’t do that!”

“But Riko-”

 

Kuroko coughed, and immediately the conversation broke up, the two figures looking their way. As Riko turned, for a brief second the light from the screens highlighted her exhausted face. But just as quickly as it had appeared, her expression changed to a professional smile. Behind her, Kise recognised the guy who had shown him around before, Hyuga.

“Ah Kuroko, thank you for bringing them here,” Riko said, her tone much more calm and controlled then a couple of seconds before. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Himuro and Momoi glance at each other.  

“I have something important to discuss with you concerning your future well being,” Riko carried on, pausing slightly for the three of them to nod in unison. “If you haven’t found out by now, usually survivors we save - like you - are the next day transported to a more secure, permanent base. However, at the moment this it isn’t the case. There has been an unexpected …  _ complication _  … meaning we are unable to contact the main base.”

Snippets of his earlier conversation with Izuki came back to Kise. If she didn’t have any connection, surely that was directly confirming the rumours. Kise shot a glance at Kuroko, their eyes meeting for a second. His gaze seemed … odd, and there was nothing Kise could read from it. Slowly, the other shook his head.

“Could we ask what complications?” Momoi said stepping forward slightly, her voice sounding sickly sweet. Kise recognised the tone as what she would use with people to get favours or co-operation. Kise could count on one hand the amount of people who could resist it. Yet it had been so long since Momoi had used it, Kise had just assumed it had died with their old life. Looking again, he noticed that Momoi had stepped almost directly into Riko’s space. From where he was standing, Kise could see Momoi standing slightly over the other, causing Riko to look up. From her the way her brow quirked downwards and her eyes narrowed slightly, it didn’t seem like Riko was appreciating the height difference.

“Sorry, that’s information we can’t give out to just anyone,” Riko replied, a harsh undertone lining her words. Kise just noticed the corners of Momoi’s mouth quirk up.

“But then what happens to us?” Himuro spoke up.

Riko reluctantly stepped back from Momoi, turning to Himuro with a troubled expression. “You’ll stay with us until we get connection. I’m afraid there isn’t much we can do until then, much less anything you can do-”

At that, Kise felt the other two go stiff. They had been reluctant from the start about this idea, but now Kise felt nothing but regret for dragging them into a space where they weren’t just ignorant, but also didn’t have any apparent freedom.

“What if we don’t,” Himuro spoke slowly, every word a challenge.

“Don’t what?”

“Surely we can just leave, continue to survive as we did before,” Momoi cut in, her gentle words carrying more threat than Himuro’s. The slight murmuring that had broken out started to grow louder.

“Well-”

 

“Don’t be stupid Satsuki,” Aomine’s words immediately cut through anything Riko had been saying. He had been on the edges of the room, leaning against a wall. He almost looked bored. Next to him, Kagami seemed to be muttering something into his ear, but Aomine just looked like he was ignoring it.

“Aomine?”

“You know that there’s no way you guys would survive out there for another year. It’s suicide.”

Momoi’s hands had clenched into small fists and Kise was aware of her shaking slightly. If only he could think up something, say something.

 

“We could just join you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, long time no see. I'm so sorry about how long it's taken, I've had a bunch of trouble with some volunteering I was suppose to be doing and my computer breaking - but I'm back and actually have something scheduled.
> 
> Also, late to the game, but I am a FAN of Kise's spikier hair in Last Game film!
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope y'all enjoyed it ~
> 
> (Ps there might be some sparring next time (。^_・)ノ )


	7. Sparring matches and new realisations

The murmuring cut out, immediately the whole rooms gaze focusing on him. He felt almost like like a deer caught in the headlights; Hyper aware of every small mutter or odd look thrown his way. An amused huff broke the silence and there Aomine was, smiling, as if the whole situation was pure entertainment just for him. As they made eye contact, he raised his eyebrow, as if to say “go one”. 

Kise gulped, trying rid the dryness that had started to creep up his throat. “ _ We could just join you!”  _ He had just blurted it out, without stopping to properly think about it. He wasn’t even sure what made him do it. Maybe he had been thinking back to what Aomine had said earlier, how if one were good enough Riko might consider letting them join. He quickly glanced to Himuro and Momoi. They seemed just as confused as the rest, Himuro even looked as if he wanted to interject.

“It’s stupid for us to just stay inside the base and do nothing but wait. It would only strain your resources and waste our amazing talent, ” Kise said strongly, his voice carrying out over the room. His mind seemed to be working at 100 miles per second, stringing words together so fast Kise barely had time register. But they sounded firm, well thought out. “We have useful skills. I mean - we survived for this long  _ without  _ any of your help. We’ve been in the area for a long time too and could provide important insight-

 

“We aren’t exactly new to the area either,” Hyuga spoke up from behind Riko, “What could you provide that we won’t already know?”

 

The question threw Kise off. His palms had grown damp. He had lost his flow and started to stutter around an answer. As the answer become more lost, Kise could feel the beginnings of anxiety start to set in, spreading and shutting down his mind like frostbite.

“Use your brain four-eyes; We may have been staying here for a while but we’ve only really been in this base. These guys are _locals_. They will have knowledge on areas and pathways that we couldn’t even think about.” Once again, Aomine’s clear voice cut through the room. It was loud and confident, the type of voice which made people immediately listen to it. As Kise looked back to him, the other nodded. _Encouragement?_ If it hadn’t been for the slow and deliberate nature of the movement, Kise would have been convinced he was imagining it. He could feel the anxiety that had been building up start to melt away and his mind clear. 

“Exactly!” Kise said, “We known safest places to sleep, which areas have a higher concentration of zombies. We know where all the supplies have run out and where there are still some left over. We even know the best ways other survivors use to pass through.”  With every word he felt a raise in confidence, as if he was being revitalised. Riko had remained silent the whole time, her finger poised in front of her mouth in a way that could only show deep thinking. But she immediately perked up at the mention of survivors.

 

“You’ve come across other survivors?” She asked slowly, and Kise felt the whole room take a breath.

 

“Yes!”

 

“-only those who pass through, and even then it hasn’t been recently,” Himuro cut in. Maybe he thought Kise was getting too excited, sharing too much. But this was an opportunity Kise was unsure they’d get again. If he could get them into the base - into the  _ team _ \- they wouldn’t be ignorant about their future. They might even have some control.

Riko paused before asking another question, “How recently?”

Himuro looked at Kise, who in turn shrugged and glanced at Momoi. The girl signed, rubbing her forehead before speaking, “It would be … let me think. It was a very small group … looking for a longer term place  ...,” Kise and Himuro nodded vaguely. Out of the corner of his eye, Kise could see others exchanging glances, unspoken conversations he couldn’t decipher. Momoi straightened, clicking her fingers together, “It would have been about a month ago! Less I’d reckon.”

 

A shocked gasp rippled through the room as low murmurs turned to louder whispers. Riko had an unreadable expression plastered to her face, but even Kise could identify the colour slowly draining from her face. Even Aomine and Kagami seemed to have fallen into hurried whispers of their own. Hyuga placed a hand on Riko’s shoulder, moving in to say something quietly to her ear but she shook her head, raising a hand to try and gain control of the room.

“Thank you,” She said, her voice easily carrying over the other voices. A couple of people shoot her confused frowns, but she waved them away and continued, “This is very valuable knowledge - the type of information that could help us greatly …” She paused again. Kise could almost hear the cogs wiring inside her brain as she slowly took a deliberate breath, “If you were willing to share it then … well then I’d be willing to welcome you into the M.I.R.AC.L.E.S. task force.”

* * *

 

 

“Kise, what the hell?” Himuro muttered under his breath, catching Momoi and Kise as they were leaving the room and pulling them to the side.

 

Riko left the moment she had finished her sentence, leaving Kise and everyone else in a mixture of shock and confusion. Kise was even certain he had heard some angry shouts and shark remarks. As she left, Hyuuga had quickly told them it was “still something to discuss” but Riko had looked as if her mind was already set. Kise’s mind had been racing from adrenaline, but a small part of him felt uneasy. Riko hadn’t been able to see any of their skills for herself yet. For all she knew, they could turn around, rob the base and leave first chance they got. This fast decision was bound to cause the rumours to flare up. It might even do more  _ damage  _ to her situation than good. 

 

Some of the other people filling out of the room had glanced in their direction, a mixture of curiosity and underlying hostility targeted at the newbies. Himuro had dropped his own gaze, lowering his voice so that only Kise and Momoi could hear.  “Why did you just do that?”

“So we could join-”

“ _ Why? _ ” Himuro cut Kise’s comment in half.

“We don’t have to do this now,” Kise replied, his voice a cheery comparison to Himuro’s own somber tone.

“You just went ahead without talking to us,” Himuro pressed on.

“It’s not like there was any time,” Kise said, also dropping his gaze to the floor, “I don’t want to just be sitting around here until they decide to pass us off to the next  _ ‘base’ _ .”

“And you decided that being  _ controlled  _ by them was better? Kise we don’t have any freedom in this!”

“At least with this, we’ll know what’s going on.” 

“ _ Barely! _ ” Himuro’s voice sounded strained as he motioned to Momoi, “Momoi, tell him he’s insane.” Momoi paused, shuffling from foot to foot. Kise remembered their last fight, and how  _ well  _ that had almost turned out. For a second he thought she was going to side again with Himuro.

 

“I agree with Kise,” Momoi said slowly, ignoring the questioning glances from both of them, “Even if we don’t know much, we at least know this base. We have no idea what to expect from the ‘safe’ base. And besides …” She paused, seemingly caught up on a thought. “I want to help other survivors.”

“You think they help survivors?”

“Yes I do,” Momoi said, determination filling her voice, “We were lucky out there, but there are tonnes of people who  _ weren’t _ . We saw so many people struggling … and we couldn’t help, not in that situation. But now we are somewhere which has resources and space. I don’t know about the rest of them, but from the way the commander reacted, I think she  _ genuinely  _ cares.” 

_ Oh. _  Momoi had always had a good heart, even in a world where kindness was either beaten out of someone or the cause of their own death. Kise felt guilt starting to bubble up inside him. He’d been so caught up on the protection of my own group, he hadn’t seemed to given any thought to anyone else. 

“Himuro?” Momoi spoke so delicately, the question would have broken with the slightest touch. Kise glanced at Himuro. The other was frowning, as if he was having an internal debate that Kise could only witness on the outside/see the after effects of.

“Don’t you want to be free from this?” He asked. It caught Momoi off guard, causing her to look at the floor. Kise instead stared at Himuro. Neither of them replied. A range of emotions were flitterin across the other’s face, from anger to despair to hints of hope (only for it to be whipped out), to the point where Kise felt as if he was experiencing a whole knew emotion. Himuro took a breath and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t stay.” With that Himuro turned and started walking away.

“Kise, we can’t let him walk off in this mood! We need to talk to him,” Momoi said quickly, grabbing at Kise’s arm, but all Kise did was shrug. He was sure Himuro would change his mind, he just needed some time to cool down. A small noise of desperation escaped Momoi as she ran after Himuro, leaving Kise on his own in the hallway.

 

Kise heard a noise behind him, a small chuckle, turning to see Aomine. The other lurkers had left, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed Kagami and Kuroko disappearing down the other corridor.

“I would have said something earlier, but you looked  _ busy _ ,” Aomine said, casually shoving his hands in his pockets. He seemed more relaxed than he had been in the control room, but Kise couldn’t quite help but notice the stiffness in his shoulders or the way his brow hadn’t fully softened, as if something was still weighing down his mind. 

"I didn’t think you were so considerate,” Kise said back.

Aomine made an amused noise before speaking again, “It looked pretty serious,”

“Nothing important,”

Aomine paused, looking over Kise. It was a lie and an obvious one at that, but Aomine just left it. Whatever his reasons, he must have decided against digging into the truth.

“So if you aren’t following them,” Aomine guestered the way Himuro and Momoi had left, “What are you doing now?” 

“Don’t know,” Kise shrugged. He hadn’t thought about it but with the vagueness of their situation, he couldn’t think that there was anything he  _ could  _ be doing. The only thing seemed to be wait for Riko’s instructions. He was sure it must have been the first time he had just  _ nothing _ to do for 2 years. The idea of getting bored in the zombie apocalypse almost made Kise laugh.

“Good, you’re coming with me,” Aomine said and then for the second time since they’d met, he turned and started walking away (as if he knew Kise would follow)

“Why?” Kise shouted and as Aomine turned back he smiled. It wasn’t smug or challenging. Just a small uplift at the corners of his mouth.

 

“To congratulate you joining the team.”

 

* * *

 

Kise frowned, scrunching up his whole face. It was all he could do  _ not _ to spit out whatever he had drunk and swallow it instead. Though it was something he’d regretted shortly after. “I thought we were having something  _ nice  _ to drink?” Kise queried, trying and failing to get rid of the disgusting bitter taste that had clocked his entire mouth. Aomine had lead him back to the “common room” area from the night before, but Kise could have mistaken it for an entirely different room. The room was filled with loud laughs and shouts, with the paperwork on the pool table having been shoved aside for a lively game. Kise had counted 2 different arm wrestling matches and the whole atmosphere had grown 50 degrees warmer. Kise would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a little out of place.  

 

“Sorry it’s not up to your standards princess, but stale beer is the only thing we have,” Aomine chuckled as Kise grimaced before taking a sip of his own drink,“I still can’t believe Riko let you into the team without actually seeing if you’re any good. I didn’t think she’d even listen to you.”

“And still you defended us.”

“I was just helping give you a fighting chance. By the looks of things, you needed it,”

“Hey, she listened to  got in didn’t I,” Aomine hummed in time to Kise’s reply, causing him to glance at the other. Aomine had done more than defend their argument. He had cut through the negativity, helped give him confidence.  By why? Kise couldn’t think of a clear reason. They hadn’t known each other long and Aomine had seemed to take every chance to annoy him, but he had still helped. Without Aomine’s interjection, Kise wasn’t sure he’d be able to regain his argument. “Thanks, it-”

“Don’t mention it,” Aomine replied quickly, cutting off Kise and turning around to lean against the side of the kitchen surface. “Riko must just be really desperate.”

Kise stared off into space, the last word weighing heavily on his mind. If Aomine thought this, then so were others. 

 

“So college boy, huh?”

 

Kise snapped back into focus. He groaned, taking another sip of beer (that he instantly regretted), “Yes, though nothing came from it.”

“‘cause it was a crappy subject?”

“Because of the sudden apocalypse,” Kise raised his eyebrows at Aomine as the other let out a light chuckle,“The subject was good ... good enough to get me away ... somewhere like America.”

“So what, you a nerd or some smart-ass?” Aomine asked.

“Even I won’t pretend that. I was pretty awful at most studies,” Kise replied. Aomine let out a low “sure”, looking at Kise dubiously. Kise rolled his eyes and continued, “The only way I got into uni was because of publicity.”

“Are you  _ trying  _ to make this sound as sketchy as you can?” 

“I was …” Kise paused. Reactions in the past had ranged from judgement to a type of one sided flattery, but Aomine was waiting and the question wasn’t going anywhere, “.... a model,”

 

Kise jumped as Aomine’s loud laughter started up, spreading through the room and causing a couple of heads to turn. This was certainly a reaction he hadn’t been expecting. Kise also realised now that is was the most annoying.

“Yeah yeah, and I’m the a superstar basketball player,” Aomine managed to get out through the deep chuckling (Kise wouldn’t admit it to himself at that point, but there was something attractive about Aomine’s deep laugh). “You’re pretty, but a model - yeah right!” Kise shot a glare at Aomine that only seemed to lengthen his laugh.

“I’m serious! Ask Momoi, or … do you have the magazine  _ Vauge  _ here?” 

“A fashion magazine … in a military base?”

“I’ll find something something,” Kise said, trying his best (and failing) to ignore Aomine’s sarcastic sounds of agreement. “Ok but now you know my past, it’s your turn,”

“You know already. I was in the army, simple as that,” Aomine said, slowly crushing the now-finished beer in this grip and watching as the metal folded over itself. Kise thought back to their conversation the other day.  _ Not how you’d think _ , that’s what Aomine had said when Kise asked how he’d joined the army.

“No,  _ before _ ,” Kise asked “What happened with you and Momoi?”

“I assume she didn’t tell you?”

“I didn’t even know you existed in her life.”

Aomine sighed and Kise could tell he was drawing out the silence. He probably didn’t trust Kise either. Makes sense. He wasn’t sure if he trusted Aomine.

 

“We knew each other as kids. She followed me around all the way up to high school. She was probably the reason I managed not to get expelled,” Aomine’s tone had softened briefly, as if he was remembering some fond memory. But then his brows stiffened and the softness was gone, “But we went separate ways after that, she went to college and I fell into something - and before you try to ask any other questions, that’s  _ all _ I’m telling you,” Aomine finished, eyeing Kise. He was smirking, but behind it was a thinly veiled wall/threat. Whatever it was, Aomine was making it clear that it wasn’t something Kise could find out. Funny how that made him want to find out even more.

“Does that mean you’ll tell me more later?” Kise asked in a playful voice. Aomine shook his head and Kise was sure he could see the other smile a bit. “Tomorrow?” Kise pressed again, only for Aomine to shake his head even firmer. “In a week?”

“That means stop asking question or you could find out something you’d rather not know,”

“Geez, you sound like you’ve got some great secret!” Kise snorted and Aomine chuckled. Yet for a second there, he had looked caught off. Serious - scared even. 

 

“Hey Aomine, I want to challenge you to a spar!” Someone who had been formally watching the arm wrestling now approached Aomine and Kise. The guy looked plain, with neat brown hair and on the smaller side (for someone in the army that was). Aomine didn’t seem too surprised by this. Must be something he was use to. He didn’t look particularly moved by the idea of a challenge either, not the same way he had been by Kagami’s many challenges.

“It won’t be much of a challenge. You’re better asking someone else,” Aomine said and from the sound of his voice he could have been dealing with something as trivial as discussing the weather.

“Come on, man! When will you accept?” The guy replied, his tone so desperate Kise couldn’t help but feel even even a little sorry for him.

“When the match sounds interesting enough,”

“The only guy you fight anymore is Kagami,”

“I guess he’s the only one who gives an interesting fight,”

“Didn’t take you as someone who would turn down a fight,” Kise chipped in, mentally fist bumping the air when the other guy pearked up and Aomine shot him a look a disgruntled look.

“I don’t. This guy just isn’t worth it,” Aomine replied, ignoring how the other guy’s shoulders sagged. “But you seem to be talking a lot of smack for someone who’s never been in a spar.”

“ _ You _ don’t know I’ve never been in a spar.”

“Have you?”

“Maybe,” Kise lied. He’s never been in a spar before. Heck, the only thing he’d ever physically fought was a zombie, and he was pretty sure those were only won out of luck. “I reckon I could probably beat you.”

“That will knock Aomine off his high horse!” An on looker shouted. Someone else whistled and the previous challenger excitedly whispered to someone beside him. Kise gave a smug smile to Aomine who only chuckled to himself, stretching up to scratch the back of his neck. Kise’s ego had ballooned so much he could barely see the large hole he was digging himself into.

 

“All right, Princess. Let’s give you that chance to win those batteries; I challenge you to a sparring match!”

 

* * *

 

Kise was only starting to realise the mistake he’d made when Aomine started to pull off his shirt.

 

He hadn’t been thrown off when he’d been dragged into a room with a large, dark mat in the center. Not even when he saw the alarming amount of first aid kits lying around the edge of the room. “Don’t worry,” Aomine had said when he’d spotted Kise looking, “I’ll go easy on you”. But now Kise was standing in the middle of the room, ringed by a crowd of strangers, his naivety has started to fade and doubts were raising to take its place.

Aomine had carelessly thrown his shirt to the side, now only in a vest. His shoulders were bare, and even from where Kise was standing, he could see patches of discolouration from scars and new skin tissue. As Aomine stretched and moved, Kise couldn’t help but notice the way the vest clung to his frame, almost perfectly highlighting the muscles. Everything about Aomine’s physic shouted  _ power _ . But more than that, it looked almost perfect. With every light scar and hard line of muscle, he looked more like a sculpture than . Kise felt his throat go dry. Aomine  _ was _ very attractive ... but it wasn’t anything Kise would ever admit outloud. It wasn’t that Aomine was a man - that wasn’t something he’d shied away from - but he definitely hadn’t thought about that since the whole apocalypse deal had started. Could Aomine be the first person he had found attractive since then? Annoyance spiked through Kise’s body, almost like a small shock of electricity. Wouldn’t  _ that  _ boost his ego.

 

“Get distracted by something?” Aomine asked, smirking as Kise’s eyes darted away. He could feel his face heat up.  _ Nothing in particular.   _ “Plan on fighting in that?”

 

Kise looked down at the large hoodie that was practically hanging off him. They had lent him some clothing while his other clothes were being “washed” and he couldn’t have been more  _ surprised  _ with the original choice of colour. Grey. He did wish they’d hurry up with returning his other clothes. He had grown quite attached to his jacket (though he would never admit to anyone how he’d almost got himself killed wrestling it off  not-so-dead zombie). Grimacing, he pulled off the hoodie, throwing it and his shoes to the side.

 

A hand slapped him on the back, strong enough to almost send him flying forward, and he turned to see Kagami grinning at him.

“Don’t worry, man. You’ve got my bet. Aomine can be a real cocky bastard sometimes,”

“Good luck with that bet, I don’t even know the rules,” Kise said, laughing nervously.

“Rules are simple,” Kagami shrugged,“First person on the ground for 3 seconds loses. You go out of the circle, you lose.”

“Injuries?”

“They won’t be worse than sore muscles or bruises. If it was, Riko would have Aomine’s ass  _ and _ any other poor dumbass who was caught here ,” Kagami laughed. It was a hearty sound, but definitely didn’t do much to calm the nerves that had started grow inside Kise. 

Fighting zombies he’d done. Fighting zombies was a lot worse, and had a lot _more_ to lose. But he couldn’t remember getting in a hand-to-hand fight with one, and definitely not one as distracting smug as Aomine. 

“Any advice?”

Kagami paused for a second, “Umm yeah … Don’t let him get a hold of you.” With that, Kagami gave him a smile and a thumbs up, stepping out of the ring and into the loud crowd. Kise tried to catch his eye again to ask exactly what he meant, but Kagami’s only response was to mouth “knock ‘em dead” back at him.

 

“I’m ready when you are, princess,” Aomine shouted over the crowd, making direct eye contact with Kise. A shiver ran down his spine, prickling and sparking through the nerves. Kise felt as if he was being sized up by some predator.

“Try not to cry too much when I beat you,” Kise shot back, noticing Aomine’s face shift into amusement.

“ _ If  _ you beat me.”

Kise’s crouched back into his heels, bracing himself. He probably wouldn’t manage to physically get Aomine to the ground by himself. Getting him out of the circle would be easier. For that to work, he’d just have to stay out of Aomine’s grasp. He could do this, he was fast. Plus, Aomine had never seen him fight before. He wouldn’t know what to expect.

 

“Start!” someone yelled from the crowd, and Kise braced himself to jump out of the way.

 

But Aomine hadn’t moved. Instead he just stood there, watching Kise. Kise felt himself relax ever so slightly. A mistake. Even as small as it was, Aomine noticed.

Aomine shot forward, like a snaking striking towards its prey. Kise’s thoughts immediately froze in his brain, and it was all he could do not to over balance as jerked out of the way. He felt wind rush past his cheek and as he looked towards it, he saw Aomine twist and lunge again. His feet moved on their own, desperately tripping over themselves to get him away. In the process, he miscalculated. As his foot made contact with the mat, something shot through his calf.  _ Shit _ . The muscle seized up and for a second, Kise loss feeling in his foot. But in the heat of the moment that second was enough for him to lose his footing. Before he knew it, Kise had collided with the ground, glancing up just as Aomine’s fist crashed into the space where he was just standing. Backpedalling, Kise rolled onto his feet and straighten, retreating further to the other edge of the circle.

Now Kise had finally had a moment to stop and think, everything caught up to him. He felt wide awake, his breath coming out in short puffs. Sounds of the crowds loud shouts and cheers were coming back into focus. Kise hadn’t even realised he’d blocked the noise out. He had barely seen Aomine’s movement. Kise almost felt as if the other had slipped out of reality, moving as if he was in some superior zone. Kise had been left to do nothing  _ but  _ react, something he’d barely got away with. And yet, he had never felt more alive. Aomine had moved as if he was pure electricity; a force that showed no signs of weakening or even stopping. His movements hadn’t been chaotic or sloppy, only calculated. Kise could learn to borrow a trick like that.

 

Looking over at the over side of the ring, Aomine’s face had morphed into some crazed smile. It almost looked bloodthirsty. His eyes were wide, his pupils dilated. Kise felt more as if he was staring down a panther. The two locked gaze and Kise instinctively moved backwards. Despite his best effort, he could feel small threads of unease start to grow in the back of his mind. Where before, Aomine’s modes had seem apathetic or lazy at best, every small feature was alive with power.

As he shifted on his feet, he felt another jab of pain. It hadn’t been as painful as the first, but his leg felt tender. He’d forgotten about his injury. The sensible thing would be to pull out, especially if there was a chance that Momoi would find out and get pissed off. But then again there was something in the back of Kise’s mind, goading him into the fight. He noticed Aomine’s gaze flicker down to his foot. His previous expression wavered, as if being replaced by a new emotion. But before he could react properly, Kise pushed off on the ball of his good foot. The injury ached as he ran forward, but Kise pushed the pain aside. Momoi was going to kill him when she found out.

 

Kise charged straight at Aomine, stopping just short of the edge of the circle. His sudden movement had caused Aomine to start to react, but Kise had caught him before he could properly move. Grabbing Aomine’s outstretched arm, he pushed back into Aomine slightly and crouched. Lifting the other’s arm over his own shoulder, Kise pulled forward with all his might. He had won the element of surprise. He’d seen a flash of Aomine’s confused face and could feel the other start to drift off balance. Exactly what he had wanted. Kise had guessed Aomine would be stronger than him, so instead Kise would use that weight against him. On top of that, Aomine hadn’t been expecting Kise to run at him. It  _ was  _ the idiotic thing after all. Already Kise felt as if he was succeeding. He could feel Aomine’s weight start to carry over his shoulder, propelled by his momentum and Aomine’s own force. 

Then everything started to slow. Where the first part of the fight had been fast-paced, time started to feel as if it was stopping, every second dragging by with enough clarity for Kise to realise his mistake. Aomine started to shift in his grip. There was a break in the momentum as the force started to be pulled back. The tables had been flipped. Kise was now the one becoming unbalanced, not able to stop his body as it started to drift backwards. Aomine was now beside him, twisting his arm into Kise’s own chest. He could feel a slow build up of pressure, only for it to be turned back on him. Before Kise could push back or even become sable, his feet were kicked out from under him. With one final movement, Kise crashed into the mat.

 

He lay there for a second, dazed. He could distantly hear someone shout, maybe counting, and then the surrounding people break out into noise. His mind was still trying to comprehend where he went wrong, his breath trying to catch up with the rest of his body. He could still feel the pressure on his chest. He got that Aomine was strong, but he hadn’t realised he was  _ that _ strong. He had easily turned the tide and beaten Kise without any struggle. “ _ Don’t let him get a hold of you _ ,” he’d  _ sure  _ listened to that advise.

The pressure hadn’t faded at all. It didn’t feel like a bruise, but more like the presence of something on his chest. Looking up, he saw Aomine kneeling over him, arm still resting against his chest. The other looked as if he was barely panting (a heavy contrast to Kise). A faint flush had coloured his checks and his hair had been ruffed up slightly. It almost looked … fluffy. Aomine glanced down, the two locking gaze. He grinned and his whole face lit up. It was a stark difference to the smile Aomine had shown during the fight. Where that one was vicious, this was pure enjoyment. It looked so genuine, so happy, so … cute. For a second it felt as if Kise’s whole brain had shut down, with Aomine’s smile the only thing he could focus on. Heat flared up in his checks and he could feel his heart stutter. 

 

_ Oh no. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took for ages; the person who usually reads over it was really busy and I had work so it all accumulated up.
> 
> But it's finally spar time. Honestly, "Be your shadow" by the Wombats was pretty much all I listened to while writing this (look it up! It's a bop and a half).
> 
> Now the initial stuff is out of the way, I'm hoping there can be more for the relationship ~
> 
> Anyway, thank you everyone for reading it!! Especially if you've been reading it since the beginning and putting up with my lousy update times!!!


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